Courting Love
by Nightfire713
Summary: Tristan convinces Seto to enter a courting relationship in hopes to woo the brunet. Seto finds himself falling for him. Better than it sounds, trust me! It's a fluffy, romantic, sexy yaoi story!
1. Chapter 1

Courting Love

The bell rang, signaling the end of the period and the beginning of lunch.

Seto waited until everyone else left the classroom, before even packing up his laptop. With a groan, he got to his feet and left the room. Normally he would have just stayed in the room, but lately his teacher had decided to kick him out so she could use the room to make-out with the gym coach. How he found that out, he never knew. Might have had had something to do with accidentally walking in on them two weeks ago. On the bright side, he could ditch gym now and still get an A in the class in exchange for keeping quiet about it.

He headed upstairs to the roof. The only place where no one would bother him. Not that anyone ever did anyway.

As expected the roof was empty.

_Thank god. If I have to deal with anyone, I'd go crazy._ He thought, sitting down. He pulled out a book on advanced physic and started reading.

He became so focused on his book, he didn't even noticed the set of footsteps sneaking up behind him. The person got on his knees and placed his head almost on Seto's shoulder. "So, this is what you do during lunch?"

Seto let out a startled shriek and toppled over with shock. He whirled around, coming faced to face with a smirking Tristan Taylor.

"What the fuck are you doing you geek?" he yelled, trying to salvage his pride. Tristan's chuckle confirmed that it was broken beyond repair.

"Just thought you'd like some company."

"Well I don't. Now leave." Seto snapped.

Tristan just laughed again. It wasn't a mocking laugh, more like a charmed laugh. Like he found Seto funny. "No, I think I'm going to stay here."

"Then I'm leaving." Seto huffed, getting to his feet. He stalked to the door, but was stopped by an arm snaking around his waist and yanking him back. Suddenly he found himself sitting on Tristan's lap. He froze. "W-what are you doing?" he managed.

Tristan smiled and stroked the side of Seto's face. "You know, you're just to cute to leave alone."

Seto almost stuttered again. _Did I hear that right?_ "Let go, now!" he demanded. Twisting in Tristan's tight grip. Tristan just smiled and turned him so Seto's back was to his chest. He then ran his fingers through Seto's brunet hair. "What if I told you that you were the most beautiful creature I've ever seen?" he whispered hotly in Seto's ear.

"Excuse me?" Seto hissed, shocked.

"I know. It sounds corny and maybe stupid, but I mean every word."

Seto blinked, this was not what he had expected. Then again, he didn't even think this was an option. This was not the Tristan Taylor that he was used to.

"I…I don't-"

"Shh, just listen. I've liked you for a while. Not like…love. You're hot." He said, moving his hand down to stroke Seto's neck. "And I want to start a relationship with you. But I know that you don't exactly like me, mostly thanks to Yugi and Joey, so I have a proposal. Since you read so much, you probably know what the term courting is. It's when a suitor tries to woo the person of their affection. By giving presents, tokens of love, simple dates, sweet intimacy. I'm suggesting that you let us enter a courting. That way you can get to know me, and we can grow closer."

Seto finally found his voice, "When did you start being so-"

"Romantic? Intelligent? I've always been, I just like to let people underestimate me. But for you I'll make an exception. Now what do you say?" Tristan was starting to nuzzle Seto's neck.

Seto was about to scream a 'no', but he stopped. He found that he was aroused by the words that were coming out of Tristan's mouth. And the hands roaming his body weren't helping.

"Alright, fine. I'll let you…court me." Seto sighed. "Now, let go."

"Heh, ever the charmer. You better get used to it baby, cause I'm gonna have a hard time keeping my hands off you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay! Chapter 2 is up. I'd like to thank my beta SeptimaDesu who has done such a wonderful job helping me. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of it's characters.**

Seto groaned as he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His body was screaming at him to lie back down.

_Yeah right, like that's going to happen._

He hauled himself up, stretched, and headed for the shower. His head was still swimming from the events of yesterday. Tristan's proposal had left him confused, worried, and quite unfortunately aroused. Hell, even thinking about it now brought a blush to his face. Having the other man in his personal space hadn't exactly been discouraging such a reaction, however. Kaiba shook these thoughts from his mind as he opened the glass door of his shower, but before he could even start the water, his cell phone rang. With an irritated huff, he grabbed it and checked the caller ID.

It was Pegasus. Again. The bastard bothered him far too often nowadays. Kaiba flipped his phone open.

"What the hell do you want, Pegasus?" he demanded, scowling and glaring at the wall since the other man wasn't present for him to target with his hate.

"Now, now Kaiba-boy, you shouldn't use that kind of language. You're _much_ too young!" Pegasus' overly cheerful voice chirped through the phone. The brunet's grimace deepened.

"You call me at 6:35 in the morning and you expect me be polite? And in case you don't recall, I'm seventeen. That's hardly too young for foul language, particularly when it's directed at _you_. Now, you have twenty seconds to discuss what it is you want before I hang up the phone!" Seto hissed.

"All right, calm down. I just landed in the Domino City Airport and figured you'd be awake by now. We are meeting today at 3:45 this afternoon to discuss the contract correct?" The man's pitch dropped about ten pegs.

"Yes."

"All right, Kaiba-boy! I'll let you get back to whatever little morning ritual you have. See you this afternoon!" There was a click, which was highly unusual to the brunet—usually _he_ was the one hanging up. Pegasus had a small victory this round.

Seto set his phone on the counter and massaged his temples. Everything was moving too quickly for him. The competition between Kaiba Corp and Industrial Illusions to dominate the games industry was spiraling out of control. So in order to save both companies from mutually assured destruction, they were going to merge them. Seto still didn't like it—not even slightly—but what choice did he have? Fighting to the death may result in his dominance, but at what cost? Quality, employment, workplace benefits…KaibaLand maintenance…

Peeling off his clothes, he stepped into the spray of hot water.

_God, when did my life get so complicated? First the company merger, and now Tristan is 'courting' me? I can't believe I accepted that proposal._ _Was I on something when I chose to comply with that? _He asked himself as hewashed his hair, _I just couldn't think for once, not with him running his hands over me. And tickling my neck with his breath. And saying those things to me…Argh!_

He resisted the urge to bang his head against the tile.

Just twenty-four hours ago, he'd considered Tristan to be just another one of Yugi's little cheerleaders. Now the other man was his…Suitor?

_I just can't have a normal life._

He turned off the water and dried himself, dabbing his skin and hair with the towel to avoid stripping his body of oils. He donned his school uniform, ensured that his hair was neat, and brushed his teeth; then he left the bathroom and took a seat at his desk to check his email. Most were from employees, but there was one from Pegasus, which had been sent the night before.

Suddenly, a chat request popped up on his instant messenger. The CEO's eyes darted to it quickly. There were very few people who contacted him that way, and they all knew better than to bother him at this time in the morning. The user name was Ttaylor79. Tristan.

_Morning baby. Sleep well? _His computer chimed with the first message. Kaiba sat stunned for a moment, both at the boldness of his classmate and the fact that the aforementioned classmate had his contact information.

'How did you get my screen name?' he typed back, finding that his stomach was churning in dread of the response.

_Same way I got your cell phone number._

Again, Seto was stunned into stillness.

'You have my cell number?'

_Yeah. Might want to tell Mokuba to stop leaving his contact book lying_

_around._

Of course. Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose, warding off a tension headache. Once he'd regained relative neutrality, he sighed and set his hands back on the keyboard.

'Why do you need that information?'

_How am I supposed to court you if I can only reach you at school?_

The brunet didn't respond to that. The logic was sound, but far be it from him to admit it.

_Hey, don't worry, _Tristan continued to type,_ I'm not gonna let anyone else know. Unlike Joey, I can keep my mouth shut._

Interesting way to talk about one's own best friend.

'Does the rest of the geek squad know you're…courting me?' Seto typed, again finding that the possible answers to that question disturbed him deeply.

_I've mentioned before that Joey can't keep his mouth shut…even if no one else spread it around, he probably would…one way or another._

'And you are opposed to that?' Kaiba queried, surprised that someone who had snared him by such forward means wouldn't be jumping at the chance to show off about it.

_We both have a love for privacy. And the gang would call me crazy. Well, Joey would._

'Why give them your allegiance if you can't depend on the same in return?'

_It's fun, _Tristan insisted,_ Besides, all my real friends live two cities over. And it beats being alone._

'They're annoying.'

_Yeah, I know. You get used to it. I gotta go. See you at school, baby._

The messenger showed that Tristan had logged off.

Seto stared at the screen. This didn't seem real, though he knew it was. Tristan was clearly nothing like the person he appeared to be. If anything, he was the exact opposite. Intelligent, calm, even cunning. It surprised Kaiba greatly to discover this, but he would be lying if he claimed that it upset him.

* * *

><p>Seto stepped out of his limo when it stopped in front of the school. Gripping his briefcase, he stalked inside briskly. Most students weren't there yet. Which made this the perfect time to work.<p>

Heading into the classroom for his first period, he sat at his desk in the back of the room, and pulled out his laptop. Before he could set it on the desk, he spotted an interesting object. A little blue box with a silver ribbon tied around it. Seto blinked, wondering if it was intended for him, or someone had left it behind the afternoon before. He struggled with himself momentarily, trying to decide whether or not he should open it.

However, curiosity won out, so he put his laptop away and picked up the box. Pulling one end of the ribbon to loosen the bow, he slid the silky material off the box and opened the lid.

Inside lay a sterling silver crescent moon necklace. His breath hitched in his throat.

_Wow, _he thought, transfixed by the shiny material. He admitted it. He liked shiny things, gods help him. He lifted the silver pendant out of the box; it was smooth and cool to the touch. It was a waxing crescent moon, a classic icon of perpetual growth. He averted his eyes from the reflective metal and noticed there was a card at the bottom of the box, which he decided he should probably check for a name. There was a message scrawled onto the paper.

_While the moon reflects the sun, you shine with your own light. The moon_

_Is the symbol of intuition, shadow, mystery, and illumination; everything that you feel you are._

-Tristan

Seto felt a blush creep onto his face.

_Wow. Just, wow._

"Like it?"

Seto jolted and whirled around to find Tristan standing behind him.

"Stop sneaking up on me. Most people who persist in doing so find it regrettable."

"Sorry." Tristan smiled, resting his hands on Kaiba's shoulders and massaging them as an apology.

"I thought of you when I saw it. Here, let me put it on for you."

His fingers took the necklace and clasped it around Seto's neck. Seto's face heated up even more than it had previously, assisted in part by the impromptu massage he'd been given. Tristan was so close to him right now. Kaiba was notorious for his sensitivity to having his personal space invaded, but his mind was so addled currently that he couldn't think to uphold his reputation.

He felt hot breath on his cheek. A soft pair of lips pressed a kiss against his skin, and he blinked; his face was probably now a dark scarlet color.

"I have to go meet up with Yugi and the others. We'll talk at lunch."

Seto watched as his astounding suitor left the room, trying to decide if he should be immensely aroused or just plain indignant. Then, tucking the necklace under his uniform shirt, he tried to return his attention to working on his laptop, but it was impossible. People were filing into the classroom, and if his run-in with Tristan hadn't been enough to distraction, the noise and crowding was.

The geek squad entered the room. Yugi made an attempt to say hello, but Seto just ignored him. He made eye contact with Tristan and found that he had to fight off the blush that was threatening to show.

Tristan winked.

Seto immediately turned his attention to the front of the classroom, where the teacher had started the lesson. It seemed he was going to be paying close attention for once.

* * *

><p>The bell rang. Lunchtime.<p>

Seto found himself heading up to the roof again. Tristan was already there.

"Hey baby," he smiled. His voice sounded husky, which sent shivers down Seto's spine. The teen padded across the roof to stand in front of his suitor.

"Come sit down."

Seto sat next to Tristan, his determined blush finally breaking out onto his face.

"Hungry?" Tristan asked, pulling out a boxed lunch.

"I don't really eat lunch," Seto muttered.

Tristan flashed him a smile that almost stopped his heart.

_What is wrong with me? It's just Tristan!_ He yelled in his head, feeling absolutely overheated and confused.

Tristan unexpectedly reached for the top of his shirt. Seto froze, rather than jerking away as he normally would have, yet another action that defied his better judgment. The other teen opened two snaps on his collar, revealing Seto's lower neck and upper chest.

_Oh god._

"There it is." Tristan breathed, fingering the silver necklace, "It looks so perfect around your neck."

_Oh, that's what he was doing. He wanted to see the necklace. For a second there I thought…no! Don't go there...again,_ Seto yanked his mind from the gutter, feeling the worst possible combination of relief and disappointment.

"Well, since you don't have any food, we'll share my lunch," Tristan had all ready moved on, and the CEO watched as he opened his bento box to reveal chicken salad sandwiches, California rolls, and two chocolate-dipped strawberries. Taking a set of chopsticks, he picked up a roll. He placed it in front of Seto's lips.

"Open up."

Seto opened his mouth almost reflexively, accepting the food, and immediately berated himself for it as he chewed. It was slightly spicy, but it tasted good, he had to admit. To himself, anyway. Tristan popped a roll into his own mouth.

"Good?"

Seto nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak at this point, even if his mouth hadn't been full. Tristan smiled again.

"Good." He popped another roll into Seto's mouth.

After the rolls were gone and the sandwiches were eaten, Tristan pushed a chocolate-dipped strawberry into Seto's mouth with his fingers.

"My mother made these. She made the whole meal. She loves cooking."

Seto blinked, unsure of what to say. While Tristan's mother wasn't something he particularly wanted to think about while getting hot, bothered, and bewildered from being finger-fed by his suitor, he had to give her props. He had high standards, and was not easily impressed by food. The taste of strawberry and chocolate mixed in his mouth pleasantly as he chewed.

"Thanks for the nice time. I need to go, but I'll see you soon, love." Tristan announced, and the CEO stared at him in disbelief. What was with these hit-and-run sessions? Then again, he didn't know if he could handle long bouts of this without losing his mind.

Tristan placed another bold kiss to Seto's cheek and left the roof.

Seto was too overwhelmed at that point to do any work, and he chose to lie down on the roof, staring at the sky.

_Wow_, he thought again, unable to pinpoint how many things he was 'wow'-ing about this time, _Maybe this won't be so bad._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 is finally up. I meant to post yesterday, but I fell asleep and didn't wake up till ten this morning. **

**This chapter is more funny than sexy, but it's still good. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Mr. Kaiba. Mr. Pegasus has arrived. Shall I send him in?" Came the voice of his secretary through the intercom. Seto sighed. He had been bracing himself for this all day. The meeting with Pegasus.<p>

"Yes," he responded in an apathetic voice, dreading the coming meeting more than was proper for a man of his caliber. Less than two minutes later, the door to his office opened, revealing Pegasus in all his camp, unadulterated 'glory'. Seto fought the urge to roll his eyes at the man.

"Ah, Kaiba-boy! I missed you so much," the platinum-haired lunatic cried in that sickly happy voice of his. He tried to walk around the desk, in what appeared to be an attempt to hug the brunet, but Seto managed to raise his hands in time to intercept that intention. The twenty-four year old man pouted slightly in rejection, but took the hint and sat in the chair across from Seto resignedly.

"So, are you ready to get this merger underway? I've brought my papers." The motion of Pegasus's pink pinstripe sleeve as he waved said papers in front of him almost made the brunet motion sick.

Seto opened his desk drawer and pulled out his own papers, that they might find a compromise between the two stacks and draft a contract from the ones they deemed acceptable to sign.

It took more precious hours than Kaiba felt Pegasus was worth, but the deed was completed; now all that was needed was to draft the arrangement for their positions in the company. This was the part Seto dreaded most of all. He had no doubt that Pegasus would attempt to take his chair and demote him. Kaiba didn't let anyone tell him what to do, and when anyone tried, he told them to fuck right off—like a boss.

Judging by the look in his new 'partner's brown eye, he had been putting some thought into this as well.

"So, I'll be CEO and you'll be the Executive Chairman. Now just sign – "

"Hold it, why should I be the Executive Chairman? This company is under our joint ownership and control. Not to mention, Industrial Illusions is nothing but a third-party manufacturer. Kaiba Corporation is a development company, one that I built from the ground up. There is no way in hell that I will allow you to demote _me_. Either we both hold the Chief Executive Officer's position, or _you_ take the station of Executive Chairman." Seto interrupted. Under no circumstances would he was allow this Looney-toon to control the whole company. He wouldn't have the expertise or finesse to run Kaiba's part of it—their properties served two very different purposes.

"Relax, Kaiba-boy! You will still have control, you just won't have to work as much. I thought you'd be happy to work normal hours. You know, hours that don't require you to stay overnight at your office."

Kaiba simply narrowed his eyes, nostrils flaring. He didn't like the idea of not being in total control, even without the added issue of Pegasus taking his seat. After all, inevitably, he himself would still be handling the important aspects of Kaiba Corporation's duties.

But being able to do those things in a decent workday, or maybe even at home, was a tantalizing prospect…

"I'm not saying you'll be just a face while I run things behind-the-scenes," Pegasus continued, attempting to reason with Seto, "You'll still be in charge of your division, but all the finalizing and such will be delegated to me. If there's an emergency, or we're dealing with the press, you'll be called. I'll be handling all the other choices, like layoffs." Pegasus chimed. "That will give you plenty of time to do things you enjoy. You should be having more fun! You _are_ a teenager, after all."

Seto was extremely skeptical about this self-sacrificing proposition that his adversary set forth, and was about give a retort, but his cellphone chimed to signal that he had a text.

"Tut tut, Kaiba-boy. Don't you know it's rude to have your cell phone on during a business meeting?" Pegasus scolded.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of me not caring," Seto glared at the other man as he pulled his phone out. It was Tristan.

'_Sup baby? I was just thinking about you and wanted to send you a quick message. I love you, my beautiful Nekomata._

Seto blinked. Nekomata? As in, the two-tailed cat? He knew the Japanese legends of them. But he also had heard of the celtic legends that described them as peaceful creatures who prefer to stay away from humans. And on a rare occasion, will become a human's familiar.

'Why call me Nekomata?' he texted back, quickly.

_It has the power to travel through the shadow, is highly intelligent, and can read humans like open books. They also have a talant for discovering secrets. _

Either Tristan was making a really good save, or he actually meant that. Kaiba wanted very badly to believe the latter.

'But why call me that?'

_Because those things, among many others, suit you...'Neko'. And I figured that you would be pissed if I called you 'kitten'._

Seto blushed.

"My goodness, what's this? Texts between loved ones?"

Seto jerked his head up at the sound of Pegasus' voice. So enraptured had he been in his suitor's lovey-dovey texts (those kinds of things were ridiculous! He didn't like them at all! _At all.) _that he had forgotten about the other CEO's presence. He made to put his phone away. Unfortunately, Pegasus snatched it out of his hand with lightening speed that was not only unexpected, but infinitely disturbing. Seto jumped up and tried to grab his property back, but Pegasus stood and held it out of reach. The silver-haired man used one hand to hold Seto at bay, secure in the knowledge that the teenager couldn't rightly cause him physical harm in this case; with the other hand, he flipped the phone open and sifted through the texts.

"Pegasus! I will make your life a living hell if you don't return my phone to me!" Seto snarled, struggling against the hand that held him back, stuck trying to maneuver around the other man without any success. He was blushing furiously and floundering a bit out of embarrassment. He was very grateful just then that his office didn't have security cameras in it. The last thing he needed was people seeing him act foolishly.

"Oh come now Kaiba-boy, this is your first relationship. I'd like to make sure that he's appropriate for you." Pegasus laughed.

"It's none of your business! Now. Give. Me. The. Phone!"

Kaiba froze momentarily.

"And why do you assume that it's a man, you goddamn fruit?" He demanded, making another grab for the phone and missing.

Pegasus just laughed again. He was reading the text.

"Tristan? As in, the Tristan Taylor who's little Yugi-boy's friend? My, my, Kaiba-boy! When did this little affair start? And what a cute little pet name he gave you. Very fitting."

Seto bristled and backed away from the older man, his original point in trying to retrieve his device now moot.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He growled, standing defensively outside of Pegasus's personal space.

"A Nekomata is a very solitary creature, and can't stand anything wicked or unnatural," the camp CEO began, activating his storytelling voice, "Legend says that if one becomes your companion, it means you have a good soul and a benevolent demeanor." Pegasus explained, handing the phone back casually.

"Now, are you going to tell me when you two-"

"Forget it!" The brunet snapped. His face was flushed red from exertion, rage, and—most of all—humiliation. Pegasus was the last person that he wanted to know about this. Especially since the man was now in a position to possibly ruin Seto's life, or at least everything he'd spent his life building.

"Worth a shot. But I will say this: if you become Executive Chairman, then you'll have _plenty_ of time to be with your new boy! Even if we don't make this arrangement permanent, at least it'll give you time to enjoy him. He _is_ your first, right?" The silver haired fox teased with a sly smile that indicated just what he meant by 'first'.

Seto stopped, blushing even more furiously, but the wheels in his head were turning. Pegasus had a point. And work _was _taking all of his time.

Good god. Was he seriously jeopardizing his entire livelihood for the sake of an impromptu love affair that he wasn't sure would last? That he wasn't even sure he really _wanted?_ Hell, before now, he'd never even thought about men like that! Or women, for that matter. Did he want to do this? Really and truly? Kaiba huffed out a breath, slowly circling around his desk before taking a seat, steepling his fingers and resting with his eyes shut as he thought.

_Am I right to put this much on the line?_

He'd risked more before now. And he loved high-stake games.

_But the possible rewards for doing this…do I even want them?_

His mind wandered back to the lunch he'd had with Tristan and the feeling of…well, _adequacy _he'd felt, like someone finally thought he was good enough for them. He remembered the overpowering ache he'd experienced when Tristan's breath had graced his skin, and his voice had drifted into Seto's ears, teasing his brain with compliments and proclamations of affection. During those times, he'd wanted what Tristan had to offer. Or, at least, what Tristan _said _he had to offer.

_I want a chance to be happy…for once in my life._

Blue eyes snapped open, and Kaiba grabbed a pen from his desk before holding out his hand to Pegasus, who cheerily provided the draft he needed to sign. After looking it over and being reassured that he wasn't missing some hidden agenda, he signed the paper.

"Happy? Now get out."

"Why? I'll just be seeing you tonight anyway." Pegasus pouted.

"Excuse me?"

"Well Kaiba Corp will be the base of operations, so I have to be here. I'm getting a permanent residency in Domino! Aren't you glad?"

They stared at each other, Pegasus brighter than the sun and Kaiba horrified.

"Of course," the silver-haired man continued, undaunted, "Until I do, your sweet little brother has offered to let me stay with you two at your mansion. He didn't tell you?"

The teasing look was back.

"WHAT?"

* * *

><p><em>I hate my brother. I hate my brother. I hate my brother!<em>

Seto was screaming in his head as stormed into the house. Some days, he really did hate that adorable little bas—

Er, ball of joy.

He stomped upstairs and slammed his bedroom door.

_That kid is so grounded when I get my hands on him. Just wait until he comes home from school!_

He couldn't believe that the kid had the balls to invite the one person he despised more than Joey to live with them, even if it was only temporary. Mokuba was obviously letting his position as KaibaCorp's vice-president go to his head. Seto couldn't live with that man. It was bad enough that they were now business partners. And to top it off, Pegasus knew about him and Tristan.

Well he didn't know about the 'courting' situation. From the man's language and knowing looks, he probably thought they were just lovers, or a fling, but still! If Pegasus told anyone, it would be the last thing he ever did.

He raged his way into his closet and changed into a pair of sweat pants and a black shirt with the words 'Annoy me. See what happens.' written on it. Incidentally, this particular article of clothing had been a gift from Mokuba…he wasn't one for 'screen tees', at least ones that didn't use profanity, but this one was…to his tastes.

He spotted something on the bed that he hadn't noticed when he'd walked into the room earlier. It was a stuffed animal. A grey cat, with black-tipped ears and tails of similar design, and bright, neon green eyes. Around its neck was a ribbon with a card attached.

_This must be a Nekomata_.

Seto picked up the toy, pleased to find that it was quite plush and soft, but still a nice weight; its fur was silky. He pulled the ribbon off of the cat's neck and opened the card.

_This is the creature that inspired your nickname. Her name is Shadow. I know, creative, right? It's said that Nekomatas protect their masters' dreams and watch over them as they sleep. So you'll never have to worry about not having a good night's rest. Just let her take care of that, my dear little Neko._

_-Tristan_

_P.S. I didn't break into your house. I borrowed Mokuba's key. Might want to tell him to stop leaving his things around Yugi's house._

Seto felt his face flush for the hundredth time today. Sitting on the bed, he stared at the cat's eyes. They were captivating. Like they could see into his soul.

_That's ridiculous; it's just a toy. I swear, this business with Tristan is doing something to my brain._

He held the cat to his chest and fell back on the bed, enjoying the sensation of cuddling something even if it wasn't alive. Good god, he was lonely. He reached for his cell phone, dialing Tristan's number.

"Hello?" Tristan's voice came through the phone. Seto had the sudden urge to hang up out of embarrassment, his throat choking up with nervousness for no good reason.

"Hi," he responded lamely, lucky to have managed even that.

"Oh, hey baby. Did you like your present?"

"Yeah," another less-than-pertinent response.

"Something wrong Neko?"

"Pegasus is living at my house, temporarily. And earlier today he got his hands on my phone. He knows about us. Not about the courting, but…"

"Oh man, I'm sorry baby. If I had known, I wouldn't have sent it." Tristan sounded upset.

"Not your fault."

And now he couldn't even manage proper sentences, apparently.

"Why is Pegasus here, anyway?"

"Our companies are merging. It should be in the papers tomorrow. You're speaking to the new Executive Chairman of Solid Illusions Incorporated."

"Wow, but this means you'll have more free time, right?"

Seto felt the urge to roll his eyes. Other people's naïve outlooks on life irritated him greatly. Didn't Tristan feel even a _little_ suspicious of Pegasus?

Then again, if he was going to be stuck in this situation, he may as well look at the glass as half-full…

"Yeah. That's one of the perks."

"Good. That means you'll be free tomorrow, right? Since it'll be Saturday, make sure to wear jeans, t-shirt, and a hoodie, okay?"

"Why?"

"You'll see."

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter will be much more fun. Tristan and Seto's first date!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi! Sorry it took so long to update. I've been tired. I'd once again like to thank my wonderful beta SeptimaDesu, with whom is the best beta ever!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh. **

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Courting Love Chap. 4<p>

Seto sat in his living room at 7:30am on a Saturday morning. He was staring at his phone, waiting for it to ring. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't nervous. This was the first time he was going to spend time with Tristan outside of school, and moreover, it was his first time going on a…a date. How was he supposed to behave? Was he supposed to act like his usual hardass self and wear a mask of apathy, or should he take a dive and reveal his more expressive side to Tristan? Not that he was especially _super kawaii desu moe _under his protective shell of neutrality; his emotions were subtle. But subtle and hidden were two different things. Would it be dangerous to give Tristan the opportunity to learn to read his feelings? To show him what the real Seto Kaiba was like?

He fingered his necklace in an attempt to relax. He hadn't taken it off since Tristan had given it to him. It made him feel calm.

And he needed to feel calm. Dinner last night had been a living hell. Pegasus had persisted in making subtle, teasing comments, which (thank you) Mokuba didn't understand. Seto had finally stormed off back to his room and stayed there for the remainder of the evening, clutching Shadow. The Nekomata had given him a strange sense of comfort and tranquility, much as he hated to admit it. Was he really regressing into a need to sleep with a stuffed animal?

"There you are!"

Seto broke out of his thoughts and glared as Pegasus entered the room. The older man sat on the chair opposite him.

"What do you want now?" Seto muttered, praying that Tristan would be there soon.

"I'm sorry for last night. I went too far," Pegasus admitted contritely. "It's just, it's your first relationship, and I got a little over excited for it. After all, before now, I was beginning to wonder if you even knew relationships _existed._"

"But it's not really a real relationship." Seto protested.

"Then what is it?"

Seto bit his lip. He hadn't meant to say that. "It's nothing."

"Seto." Pegasus used his first name for once. "Don't lie. Come on now, I have no reason to spill your secret!"

Pegasus sat looking bubbly with anticipation while Seto made a quick pro/con list in his head. The cons were high (very high), but something told him that Pegasus wasn't going to leave until he told him the truth.

"Tristan's… courting me," the brunet grumbled, averting his eyes briefly to fight off a blush. It still felt odd to say that…

Pegasus stared at him. Then a wide grin spread across his face. Seto braced himself for the high, piercing voice that would inevitably clot his ears.

"That's wonderful!" The platinum-haired CEO exclaimed, "Courting is an art that's been lost for years. I've always thought that it was the best way to start a relationship! It gives people a chance to grow closer before becoming intimate."

Seto felt his face turn scarlet.

"Now, now; no need to feel embarrassed. I'm happy for you."

Seto didn't know if he should be relieved or even more humiliated.

It was at that moment that his cell phone decided to ring. Seto glared briefly at it, silently blaming it for this horrible situation before picking it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Neko," Tristan's voice drifted through the phone.

Seto found himself smiling at the name. God only knew why, but he didn't mind it. In fact, he even kind of liked it. A little.

"You ready?" Tristan asked.

"Yes." _Anything to save me from this awkwardness._ "When will you be here?"

"Now. Look outside."

Seto blinked. He stood up and rushed to the window. Pulling the curtain back, he saw Tristan in the driveway, leaning against his motorcycle. He smiled and waved at him. Seto almost dropped his phone in shock.

"So, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Seto managed. He was still staring at their ride. Tristan was a biker. And they would be riding on the motorcycle. Together. Most likely with Seto on the back end. Good lord.

"Then come on. We've got places to be." Tristan laughed casually.

Seto shut his phone and headed for the front door, deciding that riding behind another man on a motorcycle was better than staying to chat with Pegasus.

"Hold it."

He turned to find the bane of his existence standing behind him. Before he could stop him, the silver-haired man pushed Seto's hair away from his eyes and forehead despite Seto's protests. Then he tugged at Seto's hoodie slightly.

"There, now you're ready."

Seto rolled his eyes, huffing in indignation.

"Thanks a lot, _mom,"_ he growled as he turned and finally bolted out the door and down the front steps.

Tristan stood up right and walked over to him.

"Hey baby. Did Shadow help you sleep last night?" he asked, pulling Seto into his arms in a hug and placing a quick kiss on the side of his cheek.

Seto blushed. In truth, the presence of the Nekomata had helped him sleep last night. He vacillated about whether or not to be truthful about it, but Tristan's hand running up and down his spine made his decision.

"Yes. She helped a bit."

"Good. Can't have you being tired when you're with me. Now let's go."

Tristan laughed, leading Seto over to the motorcycle. He handed him a helmet.

"You want me to ride this?"

Seto had ridden a motorcycle before. But he'd been in front, and alone, at the time. He wasn't sure how much he depended on Tristan's driving, or how ecstatic he was about the idea of clinging to the man while they drove.

"Sure. Don't worry, just hang on and you'll be fine. Just relax and I'll take care of everything," Tristan assured, climbing onto the bike. Seto wondered about the connotations of that statement as he hesitated, but put his helmet on and climbed onto the back, sitting behind Tristan. He wrapped his arms hesitantly around his suitor's waist as Tristan revved up the bike.

"So, where are we going?"

"I want to introduce you to my real friends. And I know a little place where we can get a good lunch." Tristan informed him, putting on his own helmet. "Hang on tight, my little Neko."

Seto's grip tightened as they took off. The motion was one thing in a car, but on a motorcycle with no body of steel and plastic to protect him from their surroundings…

It was a surprisingly long ride; Seto felt almost as if they were going on a vacation. They drove right out of the Domino City limits and into the rural space in between, passing a small village where the roads were still made of packed dirt and people were working in rice paddies. It was a nice change from the city landscape, the only noise being birds and various insects. Seto wondered if he could live out here someday, but he'd probably lose his mind.

They entered the Tokyo prefecture soon enough, and immediately they were surrounded by the sounds and sights of Kyoto. They passed a large shrine, and looking at it from a distance, Seto assumed there must be a wedding occurring there. He watched all the shops and restaurants zip by, saw the crowds of people on the sidewalk; some of them were dressed traditionally, men and women in full kimonos appeared, and even a few training geisha could be seen.

It wasn't much longer before they reached their destination. Tristan slowed the bike outside a restaurant. It wasn't an enormous place, but it was a decent size and obviously successful. They pulled into a parking lot just as Seto caught sight of the name—"Gaijin". Foreigner…or alien.

Seto climbed off the motorcycle, legs a little shaky from the ride. His legs buckled a bit when he realized he'd managed to get a bit of a problem in his pants, likely from the bike seat vibrating under him.

Semi-molesting Tristan for the past forty-five minutes may have contributed, as well.

"You okay there, Neko?" Tristan chucked, putting an arm around his shoulder for support. Seto grimaced at being found in a compromising position, but he swallowed his feelings of distaste.

"Yes. I simply haven't had experience with so long a ride." Seto replied. He couldn't believe that he had actually gotten on that thing. His hips were sore from sitting on the vibrating seat for so long, his limbs stiff from being still. But he had to admit, it had been fun to feel the wind blowing against him, to be exposed to the elements in such a way that it was almost as if he was flying over the road. And he was looking forward to riding on it again. Minus the embarrassment.

"So what is this place?" he asked.

"This is where all my friends hang out. My real friends. I think you're going to like them. And they already know about you." Tristan smiled. He led Seto inside.

It was like one of those old fashioned diners one might see in a 50's movie. A counter with bar stools, booths, tables, even an old soda machine and jukebox. No wonder it was called 'Foreigner'. It was styled after the other side of the world—not a bad hook for customers. The place was packed with what looked like tourists, truck drivers, and …Goths? There were people wearing all black and chains over at the counter. That was surprising. Not to say that Goth (especially Lolita) was anything unusual, but he'd hardly expected to see any here. Especially in such numbers.

"Hey, Tristan! Over here!" A voice called over the noise.

Seto's attention was drawn to a large booth in the back. There were four people sitting there. Two of them were girls who instantly made Seto think of Yin and Yang. They looked exactly opposite of each other. One had white-blond hair that fell to her hips, hazel eyes and skin that was tanned from being out in the sun. The other had jet-black hair that was shoulder length and styled in braids, bright green eyes and skin that was so pale it almost looked white, signaling that she stayed inside a lot.

Even their clothes were opposite. The blond wore a long, flowing, tan skirt, soft green top, and brown slippers. The other wore cut-off shorts, a fishnet top with a black shirt over it that read, 'Weird is the new black.' Her shoes were dark purple Converse Allstars.

Yin and Yang. That was the only way to describe them.

The other two at the table were both boys. One was a redhead. He had a headset hanging around his neck. The other was another blond, and also had a headset. Both were wearing hoodies.

"Hey guys." Tristan laughed, as he and Seto sat down, Tristan looking more casual than Seto had ever seen, and Seto of course sitting with his back straight as a rod. He crossed his legs and arms as he always did in public; it gave off the impression that he was grumpy, but in actuality, the feeling of having his limbs closed provided him a sense of security.

"Sup. So is this the guy you were telling me about all last night?" the blond boy asked, teasing evident in his voice. He looked at Seto, "Talked for four straight hours. And been talking about you for the past six months. Honestly, I may as well have met you all ready."

Seto blushed. Tristan had like him for that long?

There was a shuffling under the table, and the blond let out a whimper as he placed his head on the table, obviously in pain.

"When are you gonna learn not to put your size nine foot in your size eleven mouth Jason?" The girl with the braids snapped.

Jason grimaced, "Well he has."

"Any more and the next kick won't be in the shin."

Jason clamped his mouth shut.

Seto blinked, unsure of what to make of the situation. Were these people friends, or enemies?

Tristan snorted. "Way to make a first impression Nina."

_So the one with the braids is Nina._

She was clearly strange, but Seto didn't mind. There was something about women who didn't take anyone's crap that he found alluring. He noticed that she had six piercings in her left ear; a silver hoop in the lobe, and studs of steadily shrinking size running all the way up and around the shell. There were two more studs on the right. On her right arm was a tattoo of a snake, it's head flared like that of a cobra.

Wow.

"Well sorry, but Jason was being rude."

Tristan gave her a look that indicated his obvious disapproval, but said no more on it. Instead, he continued:

"Anyway…Seto, these are my best friends." Tristan said, "Nina, Jason, Astrid, and Ash."

Astrid, the blond girl, smiled at him.

"Pleasure to meet you, Seto. And may I say, what a beautiful Aura you have. So unique."

Seto stared at her. Aura?

"Don't mind her, she's all into this new age stuff. She's the town witch."

Nina laughed.

"I'm not a witch. We've been through this before. I'm an Earth priestess in training. _Witches_ do flashy magic tricks. I use the resources of the Earth and am attuned with it." Astrid explained in a patient voice.

Seto turned and glanced at Tristan, who just shrugged.

"Okay, we're probably freaking you out right?" Ash asked, with a sympathetic smile.

"No, I've seen weirder." Seto said. It was true. After all, he'd been instrumental in saving the world from evil several times. In comparison to Marik Ishtar's split personality, a nature witch was hardly something that would put him off his lunch.

"Yeah, don't worry. You get used to this fast. So you go to school with Tris?" the redhead continued.

Seto nodded.

"Cool. I'm actually going to be transferring to Domino High in a week."

"Really?"

"Really," Tristan confirmed, "And when he does, I'll finally be able to hang out with a real friend."

Seto blinked.

_But what about Yugi and his gang?_

"I just want to hang out with people who have interests outside of Ancient Egypt and card games," Tristan said, as if reading his mind.

Just then the waiter showed up. She took their orders and brought their food in less than ten minutes. Tristan had talked Seto into a cheeseburger with fries, which he was certain would be absolutely disgusting. He stared at it petulantly, wishing that Tristan's hand stroking his thigh hadn't made him give in so easily.

"So Seto," Nina started, taking a bite of her chilidog. "Heard that you're a big CEO. That true?"

"Executive Chairman now, there was a company merge." Seto explained. Huh, the cheeseburger actually tasted like more than processed crap and grease. It tasted like food. Sing hallelujah.

"Oh yeah, I read about it in the paper. Well, at least it means less work," Jason said with a smirk.

Did everyone only care about him being off work more? The cynic in him grumbled that it wasn't any of their business, but he stifled the thought.

"I can't even imagine having a paper pushing job. That would just be so boring." Nina complained. "It would stifle my creativity. Besides, I've got a great job. I work at a piercing and tattoo parlor. We also do t-shirts, jewelry, and makeup."

_Of course you do. Where else would fit you?_ Seto smirked mentally. He was beginning to like Nina. She was different; far less uniform and vapid than any of the girls at his school. Then again, Kyoto was the cultural center of Japan—Nina likely had more room for expression.

"But that place is so dark. The Great Divine is much more open." Astrid countered, picking at her salad.

"It's the new age store her family owns." Ash explained at Seto's confused look. "And before you ask, I work at the music store. But I also have a radio show at 6:00am every morning. Station 395.7, New World. I play mostly American music, it's better."

Seto was hardly certain that he would call American music 'better', but was impressed by Ash's non-conformity and made a mental note to start listening. Now that he had time to listen to music.

"I also work at the music store, other than that I just hang at the library or the docks." Jason said, as he finished his burger.

Seto hadn't a clue what to say. He felt at ease around these people. They were so different, but they were better than anyone he had met before. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Tristan gripping his hand under the table.

He met Tristan's eyes and blushed slightly.

Tristan smiled and leaned close. "Nothing like the usual crowd, huh?" he whispered in Seto's ear.

Seto felt a strange urge to giggle foolishly, for no real reason at all, but resisted. Just blushed even more. No one noticed, to his eternal relief.

The rest of lunch passed smoothly. Seto had transcribed all their numbers, emails and addresses of their places of work. Each member of the group made him promise to visit their store at least once in the next month, and against his better judgment, he agreed. He squelched the little voice in his head telling him that friends were for the weak, which was made quite easy for him when Tristan surreptitiously got hold of his hand again.

The check was paid and they all headed outside. Nina took off in her off-road Jeep. Jason and Ash left in a slightly worn van. Astrid started to get into her lime green Volkswagon Beetle, when she stopped. She grabbed a small pouch and ran back other to Seto and Tristan.

"Here, this is for you. I'm glad I guessed right." She said handing Seto the pouch, then turned, went back to the car, and left.

Seto stared after her in confusion, then looked at the pouch. It was dark green, and dangled on a long, brown cord. Opening it, Seto found four stones.

"What are these?"

"Crystals. She gives them to all of us. By the look of it, it's a Moonstone, Labradorite, Black Tourmaline, and Angel Aura quartz. All very powerful. You're lucky, these are good ones," Tristan explained.

"Why would she give me these?" Seto was confused. They were hardly _cheap_ gifts, and they were practically strangers.

"It's just something she does. They're supposed to bring out qualities that she sees in us. She gave me Garnet, Citrine, Pyrite, and Onyx." Tristan informed him as they walked to the motorcycle. There was a moment of silence as the blue-eyed man processed this new event. He decided that any further questions would only serve to raise more confusion for him, and chose not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"So, what now?" Seto asked, putting the pouch around his neck.

"Well, there's a movie theater around the block. Wanna go see a movie?"

A movie. Seriously? Why would he, Seto Kaiba, Executive Chairman of an international, multi-billion-dollar corporation want to waste his time doing something so _asinine_ as—

"Sure," the word left his mouth before he even had an opportunity to finish his internal rant. What. The. Hell. Was he losing his mind? He stayed quiet on the short ride to the theater, wary of his own words and whether or not he had control over them anymore.

They decided to see an Action film, since it was the only one out that wasn't horror. Seto wasn't all that impressed with it, but it was better than watching a film about a mass murderer. That was the last thing he needed right now. They were sitting in the back of the theater and were the only ones in there. It made sense. The movie was honestly pretty bad, and fleetingly, the brunet wondered if it was possibly another of Uwe Boll's atrocities.

It was about halfway through when Seto felt Tristan's hand on his. He turned to find Tristan gazing at him, his eyes intense as he stared with single-minded focus. His heart rate jumped. Tristan moved his hand to rest on Seto's thigh, rubbing small circles. Seto could hear his heart beat in his ears, his body tingling as blood rushed toward his lower body. He lowered his gaze, eventually closing his eyes as his lips parted, hot breath escaping him. His entire form seemed to tingle in anticipation when the other teenager's hand maneuvered its way up his leg just a bit further, sliding over his pants so the firm fingertips graced his inner thigh…

Suddenly, Tristan used his free hand to gently grip Seto by the back of the head and pull his face closer. Seto found that he was too embarrassed (and nervous, if he had to admit it) to look him in the eye; he felt Tristan's warm breath wash over him, then a pair of soft yet firm lips pressed against his. His eyes went wide.

_Tristan is kissing me. Holy mother of god, Tristan's actually fucking kissing me!_

Seto's eyes shut, and he moved his lips against Tristan's, both of them being tentative enough that their mouths melded together without difficulty. It felt so sweet, and…right. Something ran across his bottom lip. He instinctively opened his mouth. Tristan's tongue slipped inside, and Seto whimpered without thinking about it. He needed more; his body was hot, and Tristan's hands was still on his thigh, rubbing gently, while the other held the back of his head and tangled in his hair. Seto got enough control to wrap his arms over Tristan's back, pulling himself closer, making their kiss deeper as his tongue twitched and moved against the other boy's. It was so good.

The need to breathe forced them apart. Seto opened his eyes, gasping. It was like he was drunk; he couldn't think properly, his body felt heavy...

Tristan placed a tender kiss on his neck, tracing the crescent moon necklace with his fingers, and the cool metal tickled his throat. Seto fought back a moan. It was like Tristan knew exactly where his weak spots were. It was so good. He actually did moan quietly when the lips he'd just been engaging landed at the joint of his neck and nape, where he was especially sensitive; his mind went blank, and as much as he wanted some relief for the rather conspicuous lump in his pants, another part of him was content with this.

When the movie ended and they left, Seto had a hickie on his neck. They had completely ignored the movie and now he was trying to remember what it had been about, if only to convince himself that he hadn't completely lost his ability to think when Tristan had been teasing his skin...

The ride back was a lot quicker than it had seemed going to Kyoto. Probably because Seto was too distracted with his thoughts to notice the time going by. He was confused. He had never experienced those types of feelings before. That had been his first kiss, for god's sake!

Was he supposed to feel this way? Like he wanted more? It had been better than anything he had experienced before. Far better.

They pulled into the long drive of Kaiba Mansion around 2:30pm, after Seto got them through the electrically-locked front gates. Tristan walked Seto to the front door.

"Sorry to cut this short, but I gotta go to work." He apologized, kissing Seto on the hand before striding to his motorcycle and revving the engine. As he sat, one foot on the ground to support the weight, his helmet in his hands, he looked back at the stunned ocean eyes he was leaving behind. He winked and smiled amiably, then quickly donned his helmet and drove away.

Seto's blush increased ten-fold.

_Oh god_.

He tried and failed to fight down the tickling feeling in his stomach as he watched Tristan ride off.

_I think I love him._

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><p><strong>Okay, next chapter will be up a lot faster. I promise!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Finally! This one took me forever to write. Once again, thank you to SeptimaDesu. **

**Disclaimers: I don't own Yugioh**

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

Seto was lying on his bed, too shocked to sleep. It was 6:50am and he had been up for the past hour. The reality of what had occurred had only just truly hit him. He supposed that it wasn't until after the physical effects wore off that he really registered it. He and Tristan had kissed. It had been…amazing. He'd known that they would ended up kissing eventually, but he'd never thought it would be that _good_. He'd never kissed anyone before, never even really felt that inclined. He was old enough to handle his own physical needs. But wow, talk about a first kiss. It was something right out of a movie. Hell, more than like something out of a movie. It had been more than just heated and raw. It had been erotic. And despite how _juvenile_ the concept of making out seemed to him, he actually wanted more. A lot more.

Turning back to the clock, he saw that it was one minute till 7. Which, according to Tristan, was when New World Radio started broadcasting on Sundays. He reached over to his night table from where he lay and flipped on his radio, turning to Station 395.7. At first there was slight static, then…

A blast of electric guitar jolted Seto fully awake. It was followed by some woman singing, in English, about breaking a guy's car in retaliation after he cheated on her. Seto stared at the radio, unsure of what to make of it. He had never heard this kind of music before. But if he had to guess, it was American Country.

By the time the song had ended, Seto had learned that American music wasn't all that awful and that the statement 'Hell had no fury like a woman scorned' was very accurate. He did find the subject matter chosen to be odd, though. Japanese pop and rock was about personal journeys, independence, deep love, sometimes just having fun. But malicious property damage…?

"That was Carrie Underwood singing, _Before He Cheats_." Ash's voice said through the small radio. "Happy Sunday morning everyone out there who's listening. This is New World, streaming live. Coming up next is Owl City with their hit song _Fireflies_, and then our girl from the down-under, Kate Alexia, with her songs _Where We All Belong_ and _No Ordinary Girl_.

Seto blinked as techno music filled the room. _Fireflies_ was catchy, soothing and relaxing; yet it stirred him at the same time, filling his mind's eye with visions of a sweltering summer night full of starry skies and lightning bugs. Leaning back in bed, he started tapping his hand against the headboard to the steady rhythm. He wasn't the musical type, but that didn't mean he couldn't feel a beat.

The music Ash played was good and kept Seto in a pleasant mood. It ranged from Pop to Rock to even Celtic. But it was all upbeat, all meant to have a message.

The show ended at 8:00, leaving Seto feeling slightly disappointed that it was over. He was now actually looking forward to getting up tomorrow.

Suddenly he realized that he wasn't going to work today. As Executive Chairman, he only went in on workdays, not weekends. He blinked.

What was he supposed to do? Mokuba was out of the house for the day, and Tristan couldn't come over because he has to meet the Geek squad, so what was left? In truth, this was the first day off he had had in mouths. So he had no clue what he was supposed to do. But with nothing to do, and a truckload of free time, Seto would go insane within the hour. He lay in bed for a little while longer wracking his brain for something to do, then decided to get up. Lying in bed all day was a waste of time, in his opinion, even if he didn't feel like doing anything. Maybe getting up would give him an idea, after he got under the shower water. Maybe he'd break his normal, time-conservative habits and take a bath in the Japanese tradition.

An idea popped into his head. God it just _screamed_ lazy, but Seto didn't mind. It was better than just lying around in bed. He approached his dresser and shifted through it before pulling out his black swim trunks. He slipped out of his pajamas and pulled the trunks on, pleased to find that they still fit—the bottom hems still reached past his knees. It had been well over a year since he had been in the pool, and since there was nothing else to do, he might as well take advantage of it. He wished Mokuba was here to enjoy the event with him, but since he was going to have so much free time now, there would be many other opportunities…just the thought of that put a little more bounce in his step.

He pulled a ragged t-shirt over his head and grabbed his towel before making his way through the mansion. He was pleased that the maids had already left, as they only cleaned in the morning, and have seemed to finished early. And his secerity team wasn't allowed in the house or anywhere near the pool.

He reached the downstairs sun room, and even through the glass he could tell that it was a warm day. Not the humid, suffocating heat of the Japanese summer months, but a clean warmth that radiated from the bright sunlight. How long had it been since he'd felt the sun on his bare skin? He was usually wearing a suit by the time he got outside in the mornings.

He stepped through the sunroom and out onto the pool patio, which looked out to the lawn of his property. The pool was spotlessly clean, thanks to the diligence of his staff, and he watched the crystal blue water sparkle in the sun for a few seconds before laying his towel on a lawn chair.

After that, he dived into the water, his body forming the shape of an arrow and barely making a splash. The water curved around him, surrounded him, and for the split second that his momentum was canceled by the mass of the water, it was as if he was weightless, drifting freely. It had been so long since the last time he went swimming that the vertigo somewhat alarmed him, and he felt his chest constrict; he pushed his feet against the bottom of the pool and shot to the surface, throwing his head back to thrust the water from his face as he inhaled. Much as he hated to admit it, he was too unaccustomed to the water now to continue diving, so he decided to get himself warmed up a bit. He swam six laps across the length of the pool, getting a feel of it again. His muscles were beginning to burn all ready, and he realized that he must be getting a little out of shape. That was embarrassing. Perhaps he should start building his muscles again. Especially if he and Tristan were going to be…if they eventually…

Seto shook the thought from his head, lest the burning on his face spread enough to interrupt his exercise. He swam back to the pool edge and grabbed at the raft that Mokuba had accidentally left there the day before. He pulled himself up on it and relaxed. It felt good just to lean back and trail his arms through the water.

_I haven't done something like this in years_. _Not since I was a kid._

A small smile played on Kaiba's face. He closed his eyes and just let his mind wander; another thing he hadn't done in years. It was strange not thinking about work or dueling, but it wasn't bad. In fact, it was _pleasant_. Relieving, even.

His mind replayed yesterday's events in his head. It was nice being able to hang around new people, and these new acquaintances made him feel like a normal, socializing teenager, not a CEO or an Executive Chairman. He had been Seto with them—just Seto, not Seto Kaiba the professional hardass. Sometimes it really annoyed him that he had to act like an adult all the time. For once he just wanted to do something irresponsible. To have fun like he did yesterday. Suddenly he understood why Pegasus had given him so much more free time. He wanted Seto to have more fun. He let out a chuckle.

"How odd that Pegasus would know anything about my needs," He muttered aloud.

Then he quickly glanced around, half expecting the man to jump out from somewhere, like he always did, but his adversary was nowhere to be seen. Thank God. He'd be mortified if Pegasus heard him admit that. It seemed strange that Pegasus would be trying so hard to look after his interests, though. Maybe he was trying to make up for Duelist Kingdom. Seto felt his chest constrict a little as he thought about how Pegasus had wasted his teen years on a quest to resurrect his first love. Perhaps he was trying to spare Seto a wasted life.

Seto listened in to the silence around him. He knew there were people around, but he felt as if he was completely by himself.

Alone.

He was alone, with a day all to himself.

To do what ever he wanted.

Seto suddenly felt the urge to do something rebellious, wild even. Normally, Seto would have just ignored the feeling, but today was different. He didn't feel like the Seto Kaiba. He felt like…just Seto. And that was enough for him.

Climbing off the raft, he pulled himself up on land and dried off. Then he headed upstairs to get dressed. He was going to do it now, before he lost his nerve.

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><p>Seto pulled into the parking lot of Rebel Universe, the Tattoo Parlor where Nina worked. A voice in his head told him that he was being that teenager everyone hates, who gets a hair up their ass and goes out to get a tattoo without a second thought. He silenced it. Why not get a tattoo? He could afford to remove it, if need be. Besides, it was art. And when the time came, Tristan would probably like to see one…<p>

He got out of his car, blushing slightly, adjusted his hoodie to make sure that no one could recognize him, and headed inside. Luckily the place was almost empty. He spotted Nina at the counter, flipping through a magazine. She looked up as he approached her. She recognized him.

"Hey Seto! What are you doing here?" She asked in a chipper voice.

"I…um…any chance you could give me a tattoo?" He could barely get the sentence out. How socially inept was he? Usually, when he wanted to talk to people, he remembered that he was the one of higher social standing, and that carried him through the conversation. But with Tristan's friends…it was too personal for that. He was on their level. He wanted them to approve of who he was, not what he was.

Nina's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree when he asked. With a sequel of excitement, she hurried around the counter and dragged him to the back.

"Oh my God, sure! So, where do you want it? Arm? Leg? Lower back? Upper back? Shoulder?" She was almost bouncing with excitement.

"Uh, anywhere I can cover so that no one will see it, unless I want them to." Then again, he did keep all his skin covered. Seto hadn't really thought about where he wanted a tattoo. It never occurred to him. He just wanted one.

"I'll put it on your right side of your stomach. The only way people can see it is if you take off your shirt."

Seto nodded. It worked for him.

"Okay, let's pick a design." She pulled out a giant binder of tattoo designs. Seto immediately wanted to drool over the dragons and other beasts in the book, and wondered if he might have Blue-Eyes tattooed on him.

"And steer clear of dragons okay? Those get old, real fast."

Damn.

"Oh! I know."

She turned to a section of Tribal tattoos and pointed at one that stretched across the stomach. Seto stared at it skeptically. The tattoo was composed of bold, strong lines, simple yet complex in its design, made up of three main strokes. The central line broke off into a few curling branches, adding interest to the overall look. It was primitive, certainly. It intrigued the primal part of him with its strong appearance, yet it appealed to his more refined tastes with its beauty.

Maybe it actually would fit him, after all. Straightforward and hard, at first glance, but more beautiful and complex with each second of examination. He was starting to have some doubts about getting it, though. Even though it could be removed, would it be worth it? How could he keep a tattoo removal secret, for that matter?

He shoved these thoughts aside. He was Seto Kaiba. He did not doubt himself.

"I'll take it. How long will it take to put on?"

"Oh about thirty minutes. Don't worry; I'll do a good job. Now, take off you shirt and lie on the table."

Seto felt nervous. He never liked to be even partly undressed in front of people. Hell, if his house staff had seen his calves and arms exposed earlier, it would have put him off. It wasn't that he had a bad body. He was in shape, toned even, but he just felt insecure. He felt judged whenever people could see him exposed—physically, and emotionally. Still, he forced his hoodie and shirt over his head and lay down on the cushy leather-covered table that much resembled a doctor's examination table. He took deliberate breaths in an attempt to calm his frazzled nerves.

Nina came back in a second, with the needle.

"Wow, someone works out. Great body!"

Seto flushed. Not that he wasn't happy to hear the compliment, but it _was_ a bit forward.

"Now, this will hurt slightly. Just relax and stay as still as possible."

Nina instructed, turning on the needle. It made a low buzzing sound. Seto almost jumped when it made contact with his skin. It created an aching pain, but not too bad. More an irritating throb than anything. He rested his head back and tried to think about something else. It was hard, but he finally settled on thinking about school. It was the only thing that kept his mind away from the dull pain.

He wondered what it would be like once Ash transferred. Would Tristan completely abandon his battle buddies in the friendship orgy, or would he still spend a small amount of time with them? And how would he himself fit into all this? He barely knew Ash. And Ash barely knew Yugi and his friends. Honestly, out of all the people in the school, why did Tristan pick to hang out with the geek squad? Pity? He knew there was some backstory between Yugi, Joey, and Tristan, but he wasn't clued in to the fine details. He knew that Tristan and Joey hadn't always been such nice guys, but that was about it.

Nothing really made any sense with those people...

"Done!"

Seto blinked at Nina's voice. She was resting gauze on his stomach. He had been so immersed in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that almost forty minutes had gone by. A dull ache got his attention. He fought back a groan.

"Hee, hee. Hurts?" Nina giggled.

Seto shot her a glare. It only made her laugh harder.

"It's a bit late to ask me that."

She taped down the gauze, then helped him up and assisted him in re-dressing his upper body. He winced every time his needle-pricked skin was stretched, but found that it was bearable. He'd had worse.

"This is a bottle of my homemade ointment. It'll help speed up the healing process. Just don't ask what's in it."

Seto gave Nina a confused look. Usually, the 'take it and don't ask questions' scenario didn't end well for him.

"Just don't. Don't worry, there's nothing in here that'll get you sick. That's all you need to know. Now, put it on twice a day, once in the morning and once at night, and keep the tatt wrapped when you go to bed today. And in two days, it'll be perfect. No redness, no pain, nothing. I promise. It's guaranteed."

Seto forced a small smile for the sake of being friendly and paid. Then he headed back to his car. Luckily, he was able to drive home in spite of the soreness.


	6. Chapter 6

**Finally up! Thanks to my Beta!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.**

* * *

><p>Chap 6<p>

Seto climbed out of his limo stiffly. He tried to avoid moving his abdomen, as it still hurt slightly from yesterday. Hell, it actually was so distracting that he had been unable to drive himself to school.

_God, what was I thinking?_

He liked the design, he just wasn't enthusiastic about the soreness. It wasn't so much an unbearable pain as a consistent and infuriating one, one that couldn't be stopped with basic painkiller. Because it was so persistent, it kept his focus, but there was nothing he could do about it. It was really going to drive him crazy…

He walked into school with his briefcase in tow, the container full only with school supplies and his dueling deck that he kept with him at all times. The cool metal handle diverted his attention from his sore stomach, but that unfortunately left him free to feel sour about his situation. Pegasus, accompanied by Mokuba, had forbid him from doing work at school, insisting that school was for learning, not work. That was a laugh. Pegasus had been privately tutored all his life and Mokuba seemed to think that public school actually taught people things. What could be learned in high school that he hadn't all ready learned? His education before taking over KaibaCorp had been through college level and beyond. This was just a waste of his time and energy, just something stopping him from getting work done. There was only one reason he had agreed grudgingly.

Tristan was at school.

Worth it.

He had left this morning without having any breakfast, which was a bit unusual. Normally, he had coffee and toast, and possibly orange juice before he went out, but this morning he'd been too distracted by his sore belly and his hissy fit over being given orders to attend school. He'd left almost immediately after Ash's show had ended. It had actually been a good way to wake up. He was now becoming addicted to Owl City and The Corrs, thanks to Tristan's friend. He didn't own an mp3 player, but he was considering the investment now, if only to have Ash's playlists with him at all times.

How was it that these near-strangers were having such a bearing on his life?

Opening his locker to disperse the load in his briefcase, he discovered a small blue box wrapped with a silver ribbon. Seto found himself smiling.

_Another gift from Tristan._

He lifted the velvety box, stored it in his bag, and headed to class to get out of the view of the crowd. Once again, he was the first one in the room. He pulled the ribbon away and opened the box.

It was a bracelet of Jade, rhombus-shaped links flushed against each other in a streamlined, minimal-yet-heavy loop that rested smooth against his skin. The jade was light green except at the edges of the rhombi, gradiating into a dark—almost black—green color.

_Tristan...you're going to end up spoiling me._

He put the bracelet on, tucking it under his sleeve.

He pulled out his book and settled in. The door slid open, and other students filed into the room, chatting irritatingly and dragging chairs across the floor. When he saw Tristan, he smiled very slightly—not to be hard-to-get or some other nonsense. He couldn't really achieve a broad smile, unless he was baring his teeth in a smirk. His gesture of greeting faltered slightly as he wondered whether he was going to forget how to smile altogether, eventully.

Tristan gestured to his wrist. Seto nodded and slid the sleeve back just enough to show his suitor he was wearing the bracelet.

"Alright class, take your seats. We're beginning our review session today." The teacher announced over the noise, trying to call the class to order with minimal force.

Unfortunately, just as the student body began to wind down, there was a startling noise; it was like distant canon fire, explosive and resonating. Even as the sound hit them, so did the blast that shook the building. The sliding door rattled in its frame, the lights on the ceiling flickered, and such was the force of the quake that people's school equipment fell from their desks, and the teacher was knocked into the podium from which she was speaking.

Seto jolted, the slip in his demeanor fortunately unnoticed by the shocked gaggle students around him.

_What was that? _

The fire alarm went off, sending the student body into a full-blown panic. They started shouting and running for the door. The teacher was trying to get her voice heard over the chaos, telling them to file out in a calm manner for safety. She might as well be talking to a brick wall. Everyone was too panicked.

Seto followed the crowd out into the hallway. Thick smoke clouded the hallway, making it impossible to see. Seto held his sleeve over his nose to block out the smoke as he coughed and tried to feel his way to the exit. Suddenly his hand landed on something burning hot; it scorched his skin. Letting out a yelp, he jumped back, bumping into someone. Hands wrapped around his waist.

"I got you, Neko."

Seto almost cried with relief at the sound of Tristan's voice. The choking smoke and chaos of scrambling people was making him feel as if he was drowning. Tristan led him through the smoke and out the back exit. Seto gulped in the fresh air gratefully. He noticed that there weren't that many kids that came this way. And luckily, no one was looking at them, so it was unlikely that there would be rumors spawned from the fact that he was currently leaning on another man. Tristan led them away from the building and across the road, where some of the students were gathered.

"What happened?" Seto finally asked, making sure his lungs were clear of smoke.

"I don't know," Tristan replied, glancing around as if he was hoping the answer would reveal itself.

Seto turned to look at the school, eyes widening at the sight of the flames.

"Oh my God," He breathed, wondering if he should feel a bit guilty about the small part of him that was happy he wouldn't have to attend for at least a few weeks.

"Wow. And just a month before school ends. Think they'll let us out early?" Tristan joked with a fake smile. Then he turned serious. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine," Seto muttered.

"All right. Let me know if you get sick, though. You might have breathed in more smoke than is healthy for you."

Seto shifted a bit uncomfortably at the coddling, but nodded.

"Now, come on. My mom has probably seen the flames by now. And if I don't see her within the next five minutes, she'll have the rescue squad after me." Tristan laughed, pulling the brunet into a small café.

_What? _

The café only had two people in it. And both of them were staring out the window. The café was small, but felt cozy.

"Tristan!"

Seto's attention was immediately drawn to the woman who was rushing over to them. Her dark brown hair was tied back and she was wearing a waitress' outfit. Her dark brown eyes were filled with worry. "Are you okay sweetie? You didn't get burned, did you?" Her voice was light.

Before Tristan could even answer, his mother pushed them over to the booth in the far back corner, out of sight of the door and window.

"I swear, I knew that school wasn't safe for you. I know that school in Kyoto is far, but it's much safer and…" She trailed off when she noticed Seto. "Oh, who's this?"

"This is Seto Kaiba." Tristan introduced.

Her eyes lit up. "Oh, this is the young man you're crazy about!"

Tristan suddenly turned bright pink. "Mom! Where did you—"

"Oh, I overheard you talking to your friend a few nights ago." Mrs. Taylor interrupted, laughing it off.

"What?"

Seto couldn't help but feel amused that now it was Tristan's turn to be embarrassed. He had never seen Tristan's face that red before.

"Anyway, it's still early. I'll make you boys some breakfast." Tristan's mother offered.

"Oh, that's…" Seto started to say, but Tristan grabbed his hand under the table.

"Now now, don't refuse. You're much too thin." She fussed, walking briskly away.

Seto then looked at Tristan pointedly.

"Why did you stop me?" he asked, confused and mildly irritated.

"When my mom gets nervous, she cooks," Tristan explained, looking a bit embarrassed, "Just let her baby you for a while, it's her way of knowing if we're all right or not," Tristan insisted.

Seto nodded, then diverted his attention as an awkward feeling came over him. He toyed with his sleeve, grooming for imaginary lint, and noticed his jewelry catching the light..

"I never got to thank you for this," He broke the silence, allowing a small smile to cross his face as he pointed to the Jade bracelet still on his wrist.

"You like it?"

"Love it."

"Good."

There was quiet again. Seto tapped his fingers on his thigh in an attempt to distract himself from his burning lungs and still-sore abdomen, hoping he'd think of something to say.

"So, what could've caused the fire?" He asked at last, the image of the flames still in his mind. It was foolish to ask Tristan. It was unlikely that he would know many unintentional causes for a fire, and even less likely that he knew who had started the fire—if it was deliberate. Hell, he could probably have deduced causes in his head rather than ask, but something compelled him to make conversation.

"I betting, someone either started it, or something went wrong with the electricity," Tristan muttered.

"I'm more inclined to assume it was to do with gas," Seto disclosed, trying not to sound patronizing. Gas seemed the more obvious solution, in his opinion. Tristan nodded.

"That does seem more likely. I don't know where the gas might have leaked, though. I've heard the school was having problems with the electricity."

Seto stared at Tristan in mild surprise. He'd assumed his suitor had just been throwing out theories, not actually making a deduction. The fact that he was attentive enough to know the school was having issues with the electricity was impressive, too…

Unfortunately, Seto didn't know what to say to that, so they ended up sitting in silence again. Even worse was the fact that now he was thinking about doing naughty things to Tristan, and even the throbbing of his tattoo couldn't distract him.

The discomfort was interrupted by Tristan's mother coming back over, carrying plates of food. She set a plate loaded with waffles, bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, and pieces of fruit in front of Seto. The brunet blinked. He had never been given this much food before, at least not by a stranger. But before he could move to pick up his fork, his face was suddenly being wiped down with a warm wet cloth.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Tristan demanded, his voice both panicked and whining.

"Sweetie, his face is covered in soot." She replied, her gaze focused on the executive, who was staring back at her looking perturbed.

Seto blinked as she continued to wash his face. It was really, really strange. But it felt nice. The last person who had done this to him had been his mother, years ago. The thought made him avert his gaze from the woman who was wiping the dirt from his face now, her touch just as soft and diligent as he remembered his mother's being.

Mrs. Taylor stepped back then proceeded to wash Tristan's face, much to his suitor's embarrassment. He smirked to himself smugly, his amusement at seeing Tristan further humiliated by his mother allowing him to tuck away the memories that threatened to choke his throat.

Seto picked up his fork, but dropped it as his hand burned. He had completely forgotten about the burn on his hand. It must be serious, if it burned when he touched other things. Worse, it was beginning to burn just from exposure to the air.

Mrs. Taylor noticed him staring at the reddened, scarred flesh. Without a word, she gently took hold of his wrist, and turned it to reveal a minor burn on his left hand.

"Oh my goodness! You're hurt. Wait right here, I'll get something to sooth that, dear." She rushed to the employees access area of the room. Tristan gripped his hand and looked at it, an expression of distress on his face.

"Neko, does it hurt?" he asked, gently stroking the back of Seto's hand where it wasn't burned.

"Not badly. At least, not when I don't move it." Seto was kind of glad for the pain. It distracted him from the soreness of his tattoo.

"Here now," Mrs. Taylor returned, a bit flustered and carrying a bottle of aloe and bandages. She rubbed the aloe onto the burn, causing Seto to wince a bit, and wrapped his shaking palm in clean gauze. He stared uncomfortably at his plate of food, trying to stop the woman's soft brown eyes and concerned expression to raise any other memories. Thankfully, the reprieve from the open air that his palm was granted made the burning die away, for the most part.

"It will sting for a while, but just put some more aloe on it tonight, keep it wrapped, and it should be fine. You're lucky it wasn't more serious."

"Thank you," _mom, _Seto whispered, finding he couldn't speak much louder.

"Your welcome, sweetie."

"Now, eat. Go ahead, eat! I'm going to go see if the faculty know what caused that fire," she sounded worried again. She scurried away. Seto watched her go, then tapped the back handle of his fork againt the table pensively.

"She's nice." _That's an understatement. _

"Yeah, and a little smothering. Sorry." Tristan said sheepishly.

"It's fine."

"I mean, I know you don't like people crowding you and—"

"Tristan," Seto interrupted, placing his now-wrapped hand over his suitor's, "I mean it. It's fine."

Tristan blinked in surprise, then smiled and released a sigh of relief. He ate a cube of fruit from Seto's plate.

"If your hand still hurts by tomorrow, I'm taking you to the doctor. And don't lie and say you'll go yourself."

"All right." Seto couldn't argue with that, at least not without being dishonest. He started eating. Having missed breakfast, he was starved. All the food was delicious to him, but that may have been due to the strain from escaping the fire.

Suddenly his phone started to ring. Looking at the caller ID, he saw that it was Pegasus.

Shit.

"What?" he snapped, less than pleased with having his rather enjoyable meal interrupted.

"I just saw the news, are you okay?" the man sounded panicked. It softened Seto's expression a bit.

"I'm fine. Just a minor burn on my hand. It was my own fault."

"A burn?" The man's voice jumped multiple octaves in horror.

"I'm fine!"

"You are not coming into work today!"

"What?"

"You were just in a fire. You should be home resting. And no arguments! I want you to go straight home. Do I make myself clear?"

Who was this man and what did he do with Pegasus?

Seto growled and snapped his phone shut. Tristan glanced at him.

"Something wrong?"

"Pegasus found out about the fire and is ordering me home." Seto sighed.

"I agree."

Seto blinked and looked at Tristan.

"You should be resting. You're hurt. Please, for me?" those eyes made Seto fall into submission. "Okay."

* * *

><p>After they finished eating, and convincing Mrs. Taylor that they were all right to ride, they climbed on the motorcycle and drove to Kaiba Mansion. Kaiba's driver was fortunately still at the house, so he at least didn't have to worry that he'd left the man waiting at the school.<p>

His briefcase, on the other hand…

They pulled into Seto's driveway, and Tristan waited for him to climb off the seat before dismounting himself.

"What are you doing?" Asked the executive. He'd assumed Tristan was just dropping him off.

"Would you like me to come inside?"

"Um—I—" Seto's mind immediately rolled into the gutter at that question, and his cheeks flushed. "Yes. Come in."

Mechanically, he led Tristan through the foyer and upstairs to his (enormous) bedroom. He stood by the door and let the other teen look inside.

"So this is your room?" Tristan asked, glancing about.

"Yes."

Seto made to walk toward his desk, so he could at least _pretend _he wasn't thinking about sex, was stopped by Tristan's arms snaking around his waist. He squeezed gently, but it was right on the tattoo, causing Seto to wince.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, I—"

He was cut off by Tristan spinning him around and ripping his shirt open a bit violently. His suitor's eyes landed on the tattoo.

There was a moment of silence.

"Seto Kaiba." Tristan's voice suddenly sounded husky. "When did you get this?"

Seto flushed. "Yesterday."

Tristan grinned before unexpectedly pushing him across the floor until his knees hit the bed. He fell back, hitting the mattress a bit harder than he was accustomed. Seto whimpered as Tristan moved to straddle him.

_Oh God! Right now?_

Tristan bent down and trailed his lips across the tattoo.

Seto's heart began to pound. He'd known this was going to happen. He'd been thinking about it constantly for days. But he wasn't expecting it to happen this suddenly. He was almost uncomfortable about it, in all honesty, but his whole body was tingling with anticipation…

A wet tongue came out and started to trace the lines of his new marking, soothing the throbbing flesh if only for a moment. Tristan trailed his way up Seto's stomach with an infuriating lack of urgency. Seto rested his hand on the back of his suitor's head, arching his back in an attempt to entice him into picking up the pace. Fortunately, Tristan complied with his wishes and shifted his attention to the taller man's lips. Seto resisted moaning when they kissed, feeling that it would be too contrived, but he honestly wanted to. He wanted to make Tristan go further with him. His body was growing unbearably hot, especially his nether regions, and his messed-up shirt had slipped off his shoulders enough that Tristan was now touching his bare skin.

It was too much, and too little.

When they broke for air, Seto took hold of Tristan's collar and held him fast.

"More," he demanded, his voice commanding, but in reality he felt more like begging. Tristan just grinned at him.

Seto arched his back and released a shaky sigh when the other teen rested his lips on one of his exposed nipples and let one hand trail down his pale stomach, over the hem of his pants, and still further down to rest on his crotch. He didn't know what to do with himself at this point except go along for the ride, and he found himself getting a bit flustered and sweaty under the attention. Tristan's hand was rubbing his groin just enough to arouse him, but not enough to really get him going.

"God, Tristan…" Seto moaned.

Tristan pulled back. Seto growled, propping himself up on his elbows to glare at the other boy. They couldn't stop now…!

"Sorry babe, but if we continue, you won't be leaving this room a virgin. I promise you that. And you're not ready yet." His suitor laughed.

Seto growled again, at both the truth in that statement and his own dissatisfaction, but Tristan just kissed him soundly on the lips in response.

* * *

><p><strong>Hee, Hee! Teaser! Sex will be coming soon.<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, this one is short, but steamy. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh**

**Thanks: To Septimadesu, my beta!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 7<p>

"So, what do you want to do now?" Tristan asked pointedly as he lounged on Seto's bedroom couch.

The brunet tried to glare at him, but it manifested as more of a pout. Tristan knew what he wanted, but that wish was not to be granted yet.

"I know you're annoyed, but I really don't think it's time to do _that _just now." His suitor laughed.

"You were just licking my chest and fondling me." Seto pointed out.

"True," Tristan agreed, pulling the executive to sit in his lap. "But I think you need to understand something. I don't just want our relationship to be sexual, I want to love you and you to love me. I want us to be able to do things that we both love, to enjoy just being together."

Seto blinked, feeling chastised. It wasn't exactly a nonsensical condition.

"And besides, you're still sore." Tristan grinned, squeezing Seto's side, causing him to yelp. "And trust me, you don't want to do _anything_ while you're sore like this."

The ocean-eyed man flushed pink, but had to agree. He could barely sit comfortably as it was. If he got his wish, and Tristan pounded him into the mattress…multiple times…his stomach may actually start bleeding, or at least be too sore for him to leave his bed.

Suddenly Tristan's grin brightened even further, and Seto could practically see the wheels turning in his head.

"I have an idea. You know the game 20 questions?"

Seto blinked. Of course he knew of it. But usually he played it with the paparazzi, or his shareholders. It was probably his second least favorite game.

"Yes."

"Wanna play?"

"Why?"

"We never really got the chance to get to know each other, and since we have the whole day to ourselves..."

Tristan's warm brown eyes met Seto's meaningfully, and for the umpteenth time, the taller boy wished that he could convince his suitor to just take him now. But, he supposed, playing twenty questions wouldn't be so bad…he really should learn more about this person before he gave up his virginity, right? It was the logical thing to do. If only his logical mind could convince his body that it was right. Before Seto could ponder any more, though, the thickening atmosphere was broken by the ringing of a phone.

Tristan cursed under his breath and pulled out his cell.

"One sec, babe. It's Joey." He muttered, then answered the call.

"Joey, this better be important…I'm fine!…My mom…You know how she is…I couldn't, she would have—hm? Look, I gotta go. …Because I'm doing something that's much more fun then meeting up with you guys. Bye."

With this snappy final statement, the phone clicked shut. Tristan sighed, closing his eyes.

Seto shifted, trying to draw his suitor's attention back to him. He was a bit less than pleased to see this behavior. Not that he liked the Yugi-tachi, particularly, but he did feel some _respect _for Yugi and…less than hatred for Joey. In addition, he'd watched the group stick together through thick and thin when the world was on the brink of destruction time after time. For Tristan to be so suddenly fed up with his nearest and dearest comrades was…unsettling.

Tristan opened his eyes and smiled, then kissed Seto.

"God, sometimes I just want to tell them to just go away and leave me alone, permanently."

"Why don't you?" Seto asked. He was curious, not only because he didn't understand the hesitation, but because he didn't understand the motivation, either.

"Part of it is guilt. I've been through so much with them, it feels like I'm betraying them by wanting to go my way. But then again, none of my friends from Kyoto are here, so I've never really had the chance to get that close to anyone else. With Ash transferring, I thought I would finally have the opportunity, but I doubt he's going to transfer now. It just won't be possible for him. So I'm back at square one," Tristan sighed, running his fingers through Seto's hair. Seto was still confused as to why Tristan was drifting away from Yugi and the rest, after everything…

Then again, desperate situations made people far more chummy with each other than they normally would be. The United States sided with Russia in World War II—that didn't stop the Red Scare. When hard times ended, people often found that the ugly side of their 'comrades' was more than they could bear…

"So, want to get back to my idea for twenty questions?" Tristan suggested.

Seto sighed, not really enthusiastic about getting off their previous topic.

"Sure,"

"Okay, rules are simple. We go back and forth with ten rounds of questions. And you can ask any question you want and the other has to answer." Tristan explained.

_No duh._ Seto thought.

"You want to start?"

"No, you start." Seto smiled in a way that suggested he might become vicious if Tristan refused to do so.

"Alright. What are your favorite colors?" Tristan smirked.

Seto hesitated slightly, unsure if he should lie or tell the truth. But Tristan's eyes boring into his own made his decision. "Blue-green and purple."

Tristan blinked.

"Really?

"Yes," Seto nodded, "What's yours?"

"Black and Maroon. And sometimes a bit of yellow" Tristan answered casually, "What's your favorite place to go?"

"The beach, or mountains. I can't decide between the two."

"That doesn't really surprise me. It fits." Tristan hummed, tapping Seto on his nose.

"And yours?"

"Beach is one of them. But I'd have to say this field about ten miles out of the city. It's open and far from people. On a clear night, you can see all the stars in the night sky." Tristan smiled, a dreamy look in his eyes.

Seto blinked. It sounded quite nice, actually. Assuming ten miles was far out enough to have spared the field from highway trash.

"Favorite food?" Tristan asked.

"Baked Ziti. You?" Actually, in public, his 'favorite' was filet mignon, which was also nice. But as much as he liked fine food, baked ziti was far sounder both in terms of its substance and its expense. And it was also _delicious._

"Egg salad. Favorite music?"

"Right now, American. Favorite song?"

"It's a new song called Knights' Vows. I'll play it for you if you like."

"Not now. Maybe later." Seto smiled, wondering who in this day and age composed anything naïve enough to be called Knights' Vows.

"Okay, favorite play?"

"A Midsummer Night's Dream, by Shakespeare," Seto admitted hesitantly, "And if you laugh, I'll kill you."

"Why that play?"

"It's my turn to ask questions. What's your favorite movie?"

"A movie called Rose Red. It's horror. Normally I'm not one for horror, but this movie is good. And actually has a good ending, unlike most others." Tristan explained. "Now why?"

"I…prefer comedy." Seto muttered. Comedy, by the Shakespearian definition, meaning that the story had a 'happy ending'.

Tristan smiled, "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me as much as you might think. Favorite sport?"

"Right now, I have to say swimming," _since it's the only physical activity I do, _"Yours?"

"Running. I like to go for a jog in the morning. Favorite activity?"

"Reading and occasionally drawing." He'd enjoyed drawing. But Gozaburo had practically squashed it out of him. He'd only recently started drawing again, mostly in an attempt relax and find an outlet for his anger. His drawings weren't bad, but he wouldn't go as far to say he could make a career out of it. "What's your favorite time of day?"

"I'd have to say, dawn and dusk."

Seto blinked. He hadn't expected Tristan to have an affinity for low light.

"Yours?"

"Those are…also my favorite times of day." Seto replied quietly, his voice slightly breathy. He was embarrassed for no good reason. Shouldn't having something like that in common with his suitor give him an ego boost or something? He was all tied in knots lately.

Tristan smiled and kissed him on the forehead reassuringly, dispelling his fears for the time being.

"Favorite book?"

"It's actually Bram Stoker's _Dracula_."

Seto chuckled. Well, that was…fascinating.

"Don't laugh. And your favorite book?" Tristan asked smiling.

"The Count of Monte Cristo."

"I've heard of that book and read it when I was little. It's a good one." Tristan said, running his hand through Seto's hair. "Last question, and it's yours."

"Do you love me?"

Tristan froze. Seto was just about to start regretting the question, when Tristan kissed him briefly.

"Of course I do. I've loved you for a long time."

Seto found himself smiling like an embarrassed schoolgirl, looking at his feet.

"Thank you," was about all he could manage at this point, "I just wish we could have been together…sooner."

"Heh," Tristan snorted, "I was kind of overshadowed by my…friends."

There was a short silence while Seto thought.

"You could always transfer to Kyoto." he suggested. After all, that _would_ solve a lot of problems.

"Now you sound like my mom." Tristan snorted dryly, "Yeah, I could, but then I wouldn't get a chance to see you every day."

"I…could transfer," the statement was hesitant, but came out in a sarcastic, almost 'duh' tone, as if he was proposing the most obvious thing in the world.

Tristan blinked.

"We'll both have to attend different schools now that the fire has compromised Domino High. So why not Kyoto? Your friends are there, and it's not as if it's in a different prefecture entirely—"

Seto's bullet points of logic were interrupted when Tristan smiled and kissed him full on the mouth. He whimpered into the contact, still wanting from being teased earlier. He moved his lips against Tristan's, their mouths slipping against each other sensually. Tristan pushed his tongue into Seto's mouth and started using it as a weapon. A sexy, sexy weapon. Seto felt himself smiling into the kiss. It just felt so good, so natural. His mouth wasn't particularly sensitive, but his lips were, and Tristan's lips and tongue both stimulating him at the same time made his body heat even more quickly than usual.

Slowly they parted, both panting.

"You would transfer with me? Just to be with me? I don't have words to describe what I feel for you." His suitor murmured, his voice breathy and quiet.

"I love you." The words fell from Seto's mouth.

Tristan froze.

Seto felt the blood drain from his face. He hadn't meant to say that. But before he could even explain, he was pushed back on the couch, Tristan's tongue was back in his mouth. Hands were caressing his sides, rubbing gently; he arched his back at the stimulation of fingers running up his body, over his skin. It was too much…he was so hot and sensitive to begin with, and Tristan was being so heated right now…

Just as he thought he might lose his mind, he was distracted by the feeling of a finger tracing the crescent moon necklace around his neck. He could feel the slight pressure travel back and forth over the sensitive skin of his throat as Tristan released his lips. He grumbled in complaint, but quickly lost that sound in a gasp when lips settled on the nape of his neck. Tristan's free hand grasped his hip, and their pelvic regions pressed together in such a way that he could tell his suitor was just as aroused as he was.

Tristan's hand reached his zipper.

Seto moaned.

The phone rang again.

They both cursed this time. Tristan grabbed his phone angrily, sitting up. Seto realized that his legs had fallen open rather disgracefully at some point, and he drew his knees together. He looked back at his suitor to see the other brunet was a bit red in the face with frustration.

"Who ever this is, this better be the most important call of your life!" he growled, answering his call. Then he stopped short.

"Oh, hey Ash…Yeah we're fine…figured…actually, something else significant happened today…"

He glanced at Seto as if to ask if it was all right to make this announcement, and the taller boy nodded.

"Well, Seto and I are making plans to transfer to your school…"

Seto could hear Ash's jubilation from where he sat, and guessed that Tristan would be on the phone for a while. He maneuvered away and, ignoring the look of confusion on Tristan's face, he grabbed a change of clothes and headed to his bathroom.

_Might as well change out of this uniform,_ Seto smirked. He closed the bathroom door and stripped out of his uniform. He put on a pair of black jeans and a dark blue shirt that read, 'MY CONTEMPT. You are beneath it.' Not exactly a _friendly_ shirt, but he knew Tristan wouldn't take it personally. If he owned some cutesy nonesense 'Make me insanity with your kiss' t-shirt that every schoolgirl seemed to think was 'kawaii' right now, maybe he'd wear it.

Seto walked back out of the washroom to find that Tristan was still on the phone. However, the other teen smiled when he saw Seto.

"Yeah I'm still here…I'll have my mom transfer me as soon as possible. We're in the seventh week, so by the time the next quarter starts we should be clear." His suitor turned back to the conversation on the phone.

Seto felt annoyed, wanting Tristan to hang up already. Then he began to smirk deviously.

_I know how to get his attention._

He made his way over to couch and sat on Tristan's lap. He then began to nibble on Tristan's ear rudely, and when he received a small gasp, he used his tongue to lick up the shell of the other teen's ear. One of his hands rested on the back of Tristan's head, fingers weaving into his hair. Seto trailed the other hand down the front of his suitor's shirt, threatening to invade his lower body while just barely avoiding that region.

Tristan stifled a moan and snaked his hand under Seto's shirt. The executive got a wicked idea and arched his back, closed his eyes, and released a short, quiet 'ah'; the sound was subtle, but just enough to be obviously sexual.

"Ash, I gotta call you back!" Tristan blurted urgently, shutting the phone. He smirked at the sex kitten in his lap.

"_You_ are an _extremely_ naughty boy." He whispered huskily into Seto's ear.

"And what do you intend to do to punish me?" Seto taunting.

"I've got a few ideas."

Seto was once again pinned to the couch. Tristan kissed his neck.

"I think a little revenge is in order."

Seto was more than happy to feel Tristan's vengeance when his suitor's hands traveled under his shirt, eventually pushing the fabric up and toward Seto's face, revealing his chest and still sore tattoo. The executive released a shuddering breath in anticipation when the other brunet's fingers came to rest on his nipples, and he cried out when the nubs were pinched almost painfully. His fingers twitched with excitement at the feeling; from how rough, and forward, the other boy was being, they were equally eager for the next step.

"Kaiba-boy? Are you in there?"

Seto pushed Tristan off of him and yanked his shirt down, instantly being pulled from his haze by that high, piercing voice.

_What is Pegasus doing here?_ He thought, trying desperately to make himself look less ruffled. Tristan was sitting on his back on the couch, looking a bit dazed.

"Yes. I'm here." Seto called to the man who stood outside.

Pegasus opened the door without any invitation. He looked like he was about to say something, but stop when he spotted Tristan.

"Oh! I didn't know you had someone with you."

Then he seemed to pick up on the blush that decorated Seto's face. A wide grin broke out across his face. "My my, did I walk in on something?"

"Why are you here?" Seto demanded.

"Well, I'm on my lunch break. So I thought I'd come home and see if you were okay. But it seems that you're more then okay. So I'll just leave you two alone and let you get back to whatever it was that you were doing." The platinum-haired man conceded with a teasing smile on his face.

Seto turned the darkest shade of red that was possible. He wanted to curl up and hide his face in his hands.

Pegasus just smirked as he left the room.

Seto couldn't believe what had happened. He was beyond humiliated. Then a pair of arms pulled him into a hug. He turned to see Tristan smiling at him.

"Sorry that happened, Neko. Man, I really forgot just how irritating Pegasus is." Tristan smirked, moving to trail kisses down Seto's jaw.

Seto sighed and settled back into Tristan's arms.

"Well, I guess I better make the call to transfer." He muttered.

"Yeah. I'd better call my mother. Get ready to meet the chaos that is Kyoto High." Tristan laughed.

* * *

><p><strong>I'd like to point out that the song mentioned in this chapter is a real song and has been written and composed by my beta Septimadesu! The song 'Knights' Vows' can be found on itunes.<strong>

Hope you liked it!

**By the way, if you're reading this, please comment. I want to know if people are reading besides my beta.**

**Next chapter will be much longer!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi! I have a challange for you my readers! If you can tell what characters Nina and Astrid are based off of, I'll tell you what chapter the lemon will be in! **

**Just send me a PM or a review! Or just review anyway. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. Wish I did but I don't. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 8<p>

_Seto whimpered as Tristan licked down his body. His shirt was pulled from his shoulders and tossed to the floor. He tangled his fingers in Tristan's hair, gently pulling. The heat in his body was driving him insane; every warm breath of Tristan's that graced his skin made him shudder._

"_Please," he begged, arching his back. _

_Tristan placed a kiss right below Seto's navel. _

"_You want me, Neko?" his soon-to-be-lover asked. His eyes were filled with lust and desire. He trailed warm fingertips down Seto's stomach, slowly approaching the place where his hand was so desperately needed. _

"_Yes, please," Seto moaned, bucking into Tristan's hand. _

_Tristan pulled down his zipper…_

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Seto bolted up right, panting. He gazed about to find that he was in his bedroom, alone. A growl of frustration tore out of his mouth as he clenched his bedsheets angrily.

_Not fair!_ He thought as he silenced his alarm, the damnable sound that had interrupted his dream. Why couldn't it have gone on just a little longer? It had felt so, so good…

He noticed that he was hard, a little left over from the dream.

"Great," he muttered. _Looks like it's gonna be a __**cold**__ shower this morning. _

He climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom, and after he started the shower he pulled his nightclothes over his head. He stepped into the stream of water, flinching as the cold liquid pelted his body. Goosebumps formed on his skin as he shivered, but he was still hard. His erection was stubbornly refusing to succumb to the frigid shower water.

_Fine!_

He turned the water up to warm again. He hadn't done this many times before—only to relieve stress when things were really bad, and once or twice when he'd awakened with an erection. Usually he resorted to cold showers, but that wasn't going to work today, it seemed…

Closing his eyes, he slid his hands down his body to his aching member. He groaned as he wrapped his hand around it.

"Okay," he whispered to himself, exhaling deeply. He didn't have the same sensations as his dream, when Tristan had been touching him. Unfortunately, Tristan wasn't around, so Seto had to use his imagination. He leaned his head back, eyes closed while he stroked himself slowly. He pretended it was Tristan's hand on him, that his suitor was standing with him under the warm water. Tristan rested his warm, moist lips on his neck and sucked. Seto moaned quietly, and arched his back when the other man's hand trailed down his spine to rest on his buttocks. As his index finger pushed against Seto's anal ring, the brunet released a desperate sound.

"Please…" He whimpered out loud, rubbing his member more quickly. He arched his back, letting the mental image of Tristan fingering him drive him to his climax. He started rocking into his hand repeatedly, trying to get to the end faster, and it didn't take long before he suceeded. As the water pelted the silver crescent moon that adorned his neck, he released, letting his ejaculate spill onto the floor to be washed down the drain.

Seto leaned against the wall gasping. His eyes fluttered open.

"God." He muttered as he leaned back and rinsed off once again, ensuring that any spilled fluid was washed from his skin. Then he turned off the water and walked out of the shower, grabbing a towel.

_Wonder if that's going to become a regular occurrence._

He picked up his new school uniform that he had set out the night before. It was his first day at Kyoto High. Well, his and Tristan's first day. To think, they'd be going to a different school together in the cultural center of Japan, hopefully without a single member of Yugi's little gang in sight.

He liked the Kyoto uniform better than the Domino uniform. It was the same design, but was black and was made of a softer material. He pulled on the pants and reached over to switch on the radio he had placed on his bedside table two days ago. As the static transitioned into the show, he walked back to the bathroom to clean his teeth.

"Good Friday morning! This is New World coming to you live. Just hang in there because there's only one more day till the weekend! Let's kick this morning off with my new favorite; "Tonight, Tonight" by Hot Cher Rae." Ash's voice indicated that he was at an all time high, most likely because it was Friday.

Seto smirked.

_I'd say this is an acceptable way to start at a new school. _

He finished brushing his teeth. He was growing used to listening to the radio show every morning. It always put him in a good mood.

After rinsing his mouth out and swishing some mouthwash, he pulled on his uniform top. He smirked at the sight of his tattoo as he covered it. He had grown quite fond of it. It had stopped hurting three days prior.

He washed his face and moved his necklace under the uniform, along with his card-shaped locket and the pouch necklace from Astrid. He had no idea why he was wearing it, but he did like the stones.

"All right, now before I start up the next song, I'd like to give a shout out to my friends Tris and Shadow. Sorry your previous school burned down, but I'd like to welcome you to the family of Kyoto High."

Seto stared at the radio.

_Shadow? Is he talking about me? No, that's the name of my Nekomata. So why…? _

His thoughts were broken by the ringing of his phone. He picked it up, checking the caller ID. It was Tristan.

"Hello," he said, answering.

"Morning Neko. Sleep well?"

"Yes. Hey why is Ash calling me Shadow?"

Tristan chuckled. "So you heard that. That would be Nina's idea. She overheard me talking about naming the Nekomata Shadow, and thought I was referring to you. Sorry. Or would you rather have them call you Neko?" Tristan teased.

Seto shuddered. Dear God no. That would be…humiliating. When he and Tristan were in private, the pet name made him flattered, even a bit hot. But if anyone else did it…

"Anyway. You almost ready? I'm about to head over there." His suitor laughed.

"Absolutely. I'm heading downstairs now."

"All right, see you in twenty minutes." Tristan said. The phone clicked shut.

Seto couldn't help but smile. It was strange. Tristan affected him in ways he didn't understand. It was like he could block out that voice that had always been in his head, telling him how to act; it was a relief and unnerving at the same time. He didn't have to play games with Tristan—everything said was meant, and it seemed like they were leaving themselves out in the open. Seto was unused to that. He wasn't trained to deal with people who didn't have an angle.

Gabbing his new messenger bag, he headed downstairs to face the coming day.

His briefcase had been slightly damaged in the fire; luckily his cards were all still okay, but he was still leaving them at home, just to be safe. He did need a new bag, though Astrid (how she found out he'd never know) had sent him one yesterday. It was Earthy brown with an adjustable strap.

"Ah, there you are. You like so _appealing_ in that uniform!" Pegasus chimed as Seto entered the dinning room.

Seto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Suddenly his uniform didn't seem all that nice. He sat down and put his bag on the floor next to him. He picked up his fork and started eating the sushi-rolled fried eggs that were on his plate.

"Seto, I still don't understand why you're going to a school that's almost an hour away. Why not another one here in Domino? There's another district near Joey's old neighborhood," Mokuba inquired with wide eyes.

Seto froze, unsure of how to answer. How was he supposed to explain that he was going to the school because his boy—er, _suitor_ was going there? That wouldn't go over well.

_And did I almost call Tristan my boyfriend?_

"Oh, Mokuba, I think you're about to be late. Don't you need to meet your little friends this morning?" Pegasus suddenly asked.

Mokuba jumped up and headed out the door, calling thanks and good-byes over his shoulder. Evidently, he really liked his friends.

Seto glanced at Pegasus. The silver-haired man smirked slyly. Seto felt his face flush_. _

_Leave it to Pegasus, of all people, to save me the humiliation of explaining to Mokuba about Tristan._

"Thanks," he muttered. He hated apologizing to people, with the exception of Tristan of course. And Mokuba, but that went without saying.

"Of course." Pegasus smiled graciously.

Suddenly, his phone pinged. Glancing at it, he saw it was a text from Tristan.

_I'm outside, baby. _

Seto's mouth curved into a smile.

"I need to go." He excused himself, standing up.

"See you tonight!" Pegasus called as he headed toward the front door. Seto sighed; as much as he hated to admit it, he was starting to get used to seeing Pegasus around the house.

Walking out the front door, he saw Tristan sitting inside a…pick-up truck?

Tristan waved.

Seto laughed and walked down the stairs. He climbed into the passenger side of the truck. Such a vehicle was far less common for individual use than a motorcycle or bike, at least in Japan. Most people just walked or took the bus if they had to. City folk took the metro. But they were travelling between cities, so it was up to them to transport themselves.

"Where did you get this thing?"

"Well, it was my uncle's. He didn't want me riding to school on my bike or taking the bus; worried about creeps or something. I fixed it up and now it's as good as new." Tristan smiled. He leaned over and gave Seto a quick kiss on the lips. Seto blushed, both because this was unexpected and because…well.

"So, ready to face a new school?"

"Is no an option?"

"Sorry, too late. Don't worry; it's a better school than Domino. And a lot quieter in the magic regard." Tristan assured as he started driving.

Seto sighed, settling in. He'd believe that when he saw it.

"By the way, I found out what started that fire. It was intentional. 'Course, no one knows that but the gang." Tristan said.

"What do you mean? Who—"

He paused for a moment as realization hit him.

"Bakura."

"Got it in one guess. Yeah, it was him. He was mad at a teacher, and rather than ditch like he usually does, he set the place on fire. All it took was Marik using his Millennium Rod on almost everyone and the albino freak got away with it. Not that anyone would have tried anything with him anyway." Tristan laughed.

"Lucky Bastard." Seto muttered. He couldn't think of a day that he hadn't wanted to cause a fire or explosion at that school just to entertain himself.

"You mean lucky _psychotic_ bastard. That's the only thing keeping him from paying for the stuff he does. Everyone—_everyone_—is afraid to approach him about anything. I think they know somehow that there's no stopping him."

Seto couldn't help but smile. It was true. That _was_ the only thing that kept Bakura out of jail or in trouble with a gang. The spirit carried an air of invincibility. Rightly so—he hadn't survived so long by being just another teenager.

"So, you going to work after school?" Tristan asked.

Seto shook his head.

"No, according to Pegasus, I'm going to be working at home unless there's a meeting or press conference. The fire seemed to make him paranoid."

Tristan snorted. "Oh, that reminds me. Here," Tristan pulled a blue box from the compartment between their seats.

Seto smirked. Presents again. He opened it to find a brand new MP3 player.

"Oh my God," he smiled, "How did you know I wanted one?"

"Lucky guess. It's already got about fifty songs on it. All from Ash's show. Figured you might like them."

Before Seto knew what he was doing, he leaned over and kissed Tristan on the cheek, resting his hand on his suitor's shoulder. Tristan grinned happily at the gesture.

"Glad you like it."

The rest of the ride was silent, but for once it wasn't an awkward silence caused by Seto's discomfort and social ineptitude. It was more like a content feeling.

They finally pulled into the parking lot at Kyoto high. Tristan parked in a spot right next to the gate, closest to the building. They stepped out and headed inside. Almost as if by instinct, Seto found that he was nearly rubbing up against Tristan as they walked, like they were two magnets.

_Or mated wolves, _Seto smirked with amusement at the thought, receiving an uneven look from his suitor that only made him chuckle.

Teens were wandering around the halls. They all seemed relaxed, compared to Domino high teens who treated every little thing like an event. These people seemed as if nothing worried them or made them high-strung.

"Got your schedule?" Tristan asked.

Seto held up the piece of paper.

As luck would have it, they both had the same first and last classes together. History and (Thank god!) study hall in the library. And the same lunch. Seto's other classes were Music, Chemistry, Advanced Mathematics, and Art. Why he was taking both music and art, he didn't know. He was a computer guy, not an art guy. But he was _interested _in those things, and god knew they were the only classes that would give him any challenge.

Suddenly an arm looped around Seto neck and yanked him back.

"Hiya!"

Nina.

"Hey Nina." Tristan laughed as Seto tried to pry himself free of her. She just shoved a clipboard in his face.

"Sign your name," she demanded.

Seto blinked.

"What is it?"

"You both are joining my club. No excuses. Now sign." She tightened her grip on his neck just slightly.

Seto wasn't going to question that and managed to sign his name on the line, resulting in his release. Tristan sighed next. Then Nina went bouncing off. Seto noticed that she was wearing a long black multilayered tutu instead of a black skirt. And her socks were black and white stripes.

"How is she allowed to wear that?" he asked.

"She's has one of the highest GPAs in the school. They let her get away with anything." Tristan explained as they walked to history.

"So what's her club?"

"Wild New Age."

"Huh?"

"It's a club about New Age thinking, but with Nina's unique style of doing things. Such as tattoos, piercings and other body mod, brightly-colored hair dye…the usual for her."

Seto laughed quietly.

It was so much different from Domino. Everything was relaxed, including the dress code—students could modify their uniforms with vests, flare their pant legs or add colored hems, add cute patches and more. At Domino, Joey was constantly being told off for having his jacket unbuttoned during class.

History was the same as always, but almost twice as boring, unfortunately. The subject was Incan Empire, in all its glory and tragedy. All the teacher did was read from the textbook and didn't seem as if he particularly liked the subject—though he did keep muttering something about how he wished they were studying the era of Samurai. He didn't even notice that some students weren't even listening. Some had gone so far as to play their 3DS or PSP to pass the time. Seto and Tristan sat together near the back of the room. They whispered to each other about small things, like what the students in front of them were doing or the teacher's quirks. It was a bit low-key, but it felt _normal_, like they didn't have to be urgent for once.

Music was far more fun. Seto had Nina in that class. She sat next to him and chatted away about the school and whom he should avoid, and where they hung out for lunch and everything else that he absolutely _had _to know if he was going to survive.

He also found why Nina had forced him to join her club. Everyone kept approaching him, offering him entrance to their club. Nina had given him a reason to turn them down politely.

Astrid was his Chemistry partner. And clearly he was the object of envy in the class because it appeared that Astrid was a natural when it came to chemistry. According to her it was because she had to learn how to mix herbs properly and chemicals, to her, weren't that much different from Herbs. Then she went off on some tangent that Seto didn't understand.

He didn't know anyone in his advanced mathematics. But that was okay; it was a rather small class. And the quiet time was a bit of a relief. Very quiet, since no one in the class understood the topic aside from him, and he was keeping his mouth firmly shut.

Lunch freed him from the droll plodding of AP maths, and he immediately found the spot outside that Nina had indicated earlier. He skipped the lunch line and sat beside Tristan immediately, who was the first one there.

"Here." Tristan chided, handing him a bento, "Somehow I knew you would try to get out of eating lunch, so I asked my mom to make you one. And don't you try to get out of eating it."

Seto glared half-heartedly at Tristan, who held his ground.

"Alright," he muttered, taking it. He never ate lunch—he hadn't really done so recently except on the roof with Tristan and at the restaurant when he'd met the others. He opened it to find a cup of miso soup, two onigiri, and some boiled shrimp. Seto blinked. It actually looked good.

"Hey you two Lovebirds." Nina giggled as she and Astrid sat down next to them. In her hands were a bento box and a large cup filled with what looked like frozen coke. "I see neither one of you got one of the school lunches, smart move. Most of it isn't even editable."

"Yes," Astrid agreed in her dreamy way. "It can be quite awful at times."

Seto stared at Astrid. It was the first time he really looked at her. She just gave off a wave of calm that seemed to surround her. She was so strange, not a bad strange, just strange. Her voice made him feel relaxed, like it was a tranquilizer.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Ash and Jason appeared.

"Not much," Nina said slurping on her large drink.

"Don't you ever get tired of that stuff? You drink it all the time." Ash smirked taking a bit of his wasabi roll. Obliviously he liked spicy foods.

"Hush up! It's my favorite drink. I've had at least one of these everyday for the past year." She said proudly, with a smile.

"Which is also the last time you got a real night's sleep." Jason laughed. Nina responded by punching him sharply in the arm. He winced. "I'm sorry, but I'm not joking. You practically mainline caffeine!" he snarled shifting away from her to avoid another blow.

Seto stifled a laugh. The tension between Jason and Nina was very amusing.

The rest of lunch passed peacefully. When the next bell rang, they all stood and made their way back inside. Seto was a bit upset and slightly relieved that he couldn't have any wild makeout sessions with Tristan before class, but he was startled by his suitor squeezing his ass just before the other teen disappeared into the crowd.

He had art with Ash, so at least he didn't feel alone in a room full of strangers. However, it turned out that Ash could actually do art, and watching him sketch an amazing pencil drawing of an eye in three minutes was a bit discouraging. Seto set his pencil to paper and tried to draw a landscape, but was less than pleased with the result, eventually lifting the sheet to crumple it.

"What are you doing?" Ash held his arm to stop him, "At least let me see it before you toss it away?"

"It's not worth looking at."

"I can decide that for myself, man," Ash insisted, taking the paper. His eyes blinked when he saw the drawing.

"Wow, this is…"

"Atrocious?"

"No," Ash turned his eyes up to meet Seto's, "Good."

"...good? What?" The brunet's nose wrinkled.

"As in, you have a bit of artistic talent. I mean, look at this," he smoothed the paper out on the table, "It's no Van Gogh, but seriously. This ocean scene you drew, it's almost real, you have an eye for detail. But your shading is a bit off. But with a little practice you could be a professional."

"Um, thank you …" Seto muttered, shifting uncomfortably.

"Your welcome, I'm proud of you for finding your talent. Maybe you should go into the Art as a side career."

Seto scoffed at that. He already had one job; he didn't another, but maybe a hobby. He stashed his drawing in his bag rather than tossing it in the trash, as he'd intended. Maybe Ash had changed his mind, a little bit, but he was still skeptical.

The pair walked to the library for study hall together, and met Jason, Astrid, Nina, and Tristan on the way. Once inside, they settled into a corner to talk. Or, rather, everyone else talked and Seto sat quietly listening and sneakily getting kissed and touched lovingly by Tristan. He preferred to watch the others interact, anyway.

That ended soon enough, and none of them had done any studying, but it didn't seem to matter that much.

"So, how did you like your first day? Tristan asked as they pulled out of the parking lot.

"Not what I expected." Seto admitted. "So now what?"

"Wanna go to my place? You don't have to start work until four. That gives us about two hours to do whatever."

Seto blinked. Tristan's house? He hadn't thought about going to Tristan's house. He never really thought about it.

"Sure."

They rode to the housing districts of Domino, where the streets were lined by apartments. They were average places, not big or small, but they were clean and well-kept. Tristan parked, and they got out of the truck. Tristan lived on one of the second-story apartments, and they walked up the stairs into the home.

Tristan's apartment was small, but cozy, just like a café. They removed their shoes in the hardwood entryway and proceeded further into the place to walk on the tatami mats. The furniture and decoration in the living room was minimal, but well-placed. The apartment was empty, dark, and quiet.

"Your parents aren't home?" Seto asked.

"No, they work for another three hours. Make yourself comfortable." Tristan sat down on the old couch.

Seto hesitantly sat down next to him. He was in Tristan's home, alone with him.

In Tristan's home.

Alone with him.

In the low light…

Suddenly Tristan began to kiss his neck. Seto stifled a moan, immediately lifting one hand to rest in his suitor's hair. Tristan pushed him to lie the couch, and Seto wrapped his arms over the other's back. Their mouths met, and immediately Tristan was slipping his tongue inside and stroking Seto's abdomen, right where his tattoo was. The skin was no longer painful, but it was still sensitive.

"God Tristan…if you're teasing me again, just stop now," He begged, not wanting to be left hot and bothered again.

In response, Tristan slipped his fingers under Seto's pants hem, and shortly after grabbed his zipper.

Seto whimpered; his thoughts were drawn back to the dream he had had that morning.

But before they could get any further…

"What the fuck?"

Seto's gaze shot up to meet Joey Wheeler, standing in the doorway.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! This chapter turned out great! <strong>

**Please tell me what you thought of it.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Oh my God, I'm so sorry that it took me this long to update. I'm failing so classes in school so I had to focus on that for a while. Sorry for leaving you on a cliff-hanger!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh**

**Please enjoy**

* * *

><p>Chapter 9<p>

"What the _fuck_?"

As his eyes turned to the door, Seto's heart pounded from the sudden rush of adrenaline he experienced when the blond's voice rang through the air. What was Joey doing here? And how did he get in? Didn't Tristan lock the door when they entered?

"What the hell is going on here?" the blond demanded, rage evident in every iota of his presence.

"Joey, what are you _doing_ here?" Tristan seemed dazed, shocked by the fact that Joey was here, staring at them. He sat up, lifting himself from Seto's body so he could sit as well.

"I was coming by to get you so we could go to Yugi's. I was hardly expecting to find you _making out_ with Rich-boy! What the _hell?_" Joey screamed, fists clenched at his sides. Seto winced slightly, knowing that any of Tristan's neighbors who might be home now would certainly have heard that.

"It's none of your business, Joey," Tristan snapped, "Especially if you're going to be _that _way about it! You need to leave."

"Is this what you've been up to for the past week? Blowing us off to hang out with _him?_" Joey ignored Tristan entirely and continued his tirade, his rage rising visibly, "And since when have you been interested in _guys_? Is Kaiba blackmailing you or something?"

"Out! Now!" Tristan snarled, a feral look appearing on his face.

Seto didn't know what to say. He just felt frozen in place. He had never seen Tristan like this.

"Damn it Kaiba! What did you do to my friend? You fucking _cocksucker—_"

There was the distinct slap of someone's hand hitting flesh—hard—and Joey stopped short.

Everything was silent.

Then the fast-mounting tension broke when Tristan took a stand in front of Joey, gripping his friend's shirt aggressively. Joey's cheek was now bright red. Seto couldn't believe it; Tristan had actually smacked Joey in the face—in earnest—something that he didn't know his suitor for doing all that often.

From what he'd heard, _Joey _was the violent one…

"Get. _Out_." Tristan's voice had dropped to a dangerous whisper as he hissed at the stunned blond, "And if you ever insult him like that again, I will put you through a world of pain that even Bakura and Marik would find to be cruel and unusual torture. Do I make myself clear?"

Joey stared at his friend, a look of betrayal and fear on his face. He wriggled around in an attempt to free himself from Tristan, then pushed the brunet away altogether and ran out the door, slamming it behind him.

Tristan sighed and walked back to the couch, rubbing the back of his head in a troubled fashion. Seto wasn't sure what he should do—whether he should feel guilty for causing a rift between Tristan and his friend, whether he should offer meaningless condolences or a hug. Before he could decide, however, Tristan pulled him into his arms and kissed him, almost as if they were picking up where they'd left off. Seto whimpered, his worries dissipating in light of this improved situation. Tristan's drama could wait until later.

Tristan resumed stroking Seto's tattoo, causing him to shudder and exhale a warm, shaky breath onto his suitor's neck. He rested his arms on the other boy's shoulders in an embrace, pulling their bodies closer together. When they broke away from each other, Seto was a bit surprised—though nonetheless pleased—when his suitor nuzzled the nape of his neck.

"I'm sorry." Tristan muttered, his breath tickling the skin it graced. Seto blinked, slightly unable to focus.

"W-what for?" He managed as Tristan sucked on his collarbone. God, his suitor was making it hard to think. Then again, he'd rather _feel _than think just now…

"I forgot Joey knew where the spare key was." Tristan said. Ah yes. Joey. And the yelling and such. He'd nearly managed to forget about that. "And I should've stopped him sooner. I'm sorry he said those things to you." He continued, hot breath tickling Seto's ear. Best apology ever.

"It's…fine." Seto breathed, stroking the side of Tristan's face, "He just surprised me. I never knew he could become quite so angry."

"Hate to say this baby, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. Trust me when I say this: he could have been a lot worse. If I hadn't stopped him, he probably would have lunged for your throat." Tristan laughed.

Seto blinked.

"He's done that before?"

"Yeah. Last time was when his old gang tried to hurt Yugi. Joey almost beat that guy Hirutani into a coma." Tristan chuckled.

Hirutani? Seto had heard of that guy—he was a juvenile delinquent from the middle school Joey used to attend. They'd gone to different high schools, despite still living in the same apartment complex…certainly, Hirutani must have been upset when his old schoolmate (and probably fellow gang member) had changed into an upstanding citizen and friend of the black sheep in school. From what he'd researched (because he always looked into everyone's background. Always.), it seemed that many members of the gang had been found dead in a warehouse somewhere in Domino, including one who had been electrocuted. Hirutani had been severely beaten, missing almost all of his teeth and sporting several broken limbs and ribs. He was nearly dead, or as good as. Police reported that a rival gang must have beaten him and thrown him off the roof…

Seto felt faint. Joey had seriously done that? He couldn't say for the dead gang members—Joey didn't seem capable of such intentional, clean-cut, and cold-blooded murder. But Hirutani's case sounded like it might fit the bill.

"He's…never done that with me." He muttered.

"Yeah, well Yugi and I usually held him back or distracted him before he could ever do something like that to you. And you've yet to push him into the red zone." Tristan explained, as he began to nibble on Seto's ear. Seto shuddered at both Tristan's actions and the thought of what Joey could really be like if he was truly mad. It was not something he wanted to witness. The erotic attentions did little to dispel his anxiety now, especially as he realized that he was in real—and very present—danger.

"Tristan, I need to go home. It's almost time for me to start work." Seto reluctantly announced, trying to pry Tristan off his neck.

"You sure?" Tristan smirked, giving him a very gentle, yet almost threatening bite.

"Y-yes." Seto managed. He wondered vaguely if he had a chance of getting some rough sex out of Tristan in the future.

"You still have an hour. I have an idea." Tristan sudden lifted Seto up into his arms like a new bride.

"W-what?" Seto blushed, humiliated. He struggled to get back on the ground, attempting to pry the other's hands from his person, but Tristan just chuckled at his movement.

"Relax. You'll enjoy it."

Seto blinked. What did he mean by that?

He found himself being carried down the narrow hall, his suitor's feet falling heavily on the hardwood floor due to the weight he carried. They reached the end of the passage and walked into a bedroom. It was Tristan's. No doubt about it. The minimal wall space was almost entirely hidden by posters that had been taped or tacked to the wall, images of singers, celebrities, and movie promotions all looking in on them. On the wall against which the headboard of the bed was flush, there was a spattering of CD booklets from multiple albums and artists, spread in a random but appealing arrangement. The bed was a platform twin, not uncommon for a boys' room in a family apartment. The blankets and pillows had fantasy prints on them; closer inspection revealed that the image on the bedspread was a pale fairy creature in a tower, gazing out at the full moon.

Tristan lay Seto down on the bed. Seto felt his face flush.

_Is he going to…? _

Tristan crawled onto his other side and moved so that he was spooning Seto from behind. Seto turned an even darker shade of red as Tristan wrapped his arms around his waist and held him gently.

"Go to sleep Neko. I'll wake you when it's time." Tristan promised, placing a kiss on the spot behind Seto's ear.

Seto felt his heart thumping in his chest, his ears pounding as his earlier tension mounted. Then his body caught up with the realization that he was _not _about to be deflowered, and his cheeks burned with indignation. Tristan was always messing with his head. Why couldn't they just get on with it? He was going to lose his mind.

But, there would be another day for such excursions, he supposed. Hopefully the next would be more successful.

And, honestly, he felt himself growing more and more relaxed as he lay there with Tristan. Never had he lain in the same bed with someone, except when Mokuba padded into his room to snuggle up when he'd had a nightmare or was frightened. But this was completely different. Now he was playing the part of a lover, not a protector. He found himself leaning closer to Tristan and growing sleepy, resting his head on his hand both for comfort and to keep as much warmth in the vicinity as possible.

"I'm right here, Seto," Tristan whispered into his ear.

Seto closed his eyes, and let his consciousness drift away, choosing to put his faith in that whispered assurance.

***************8

"In essence, our profits have increased ten percent in the week since the merge. If this continues, we should be able to meet our status quo about two weeks earlier than expected." Pegasus explained, looking as if he felt Seto knew where he was going with this announcement.

"If that happens, we should be able to increase salaries for all employees—including those in maintenance." Seto agreed. He was well pleased. Usually, the trickle-down effect only 'trickled' so far, and the guys at the bottom got shafted. And KaibaCorp—or, rather, Solid Illusions Inc—was not a company that chose not to pay their employees more when the opportunity arose.

They were in the middle of web-chat conference with the other board members. Seto had arrived home from Tristan's right on time, and now he and Pegasus were discussing the company's financials with Seto's investors. Turns out that the newly formed company was flourishing, much to their relief. The middle-aged businessmen (and one woman) who had trusted Seto to use his company wisely—and therefore protect their interests—were certainly not regretting their decision.

"It also means we won't have to worry about lay-offs for at least six months," Pegasus continued, looking away from the camera; he probably had a chart or something printed out and laid on his desk where he could view it.

Seto nodded, more than pleased to let Pegasus control the conversation. He never did like talking to people.

This was actually going well. Pegasus was very serious when they were discussing business, it seemed. It was quite a relief. They had been at it for the past hour and had made a lot of progress—both reassuring the investors and encouraging them to continue risking their funds in company stocks. Despite this success, though, he silently wished that he were still at Tristan's house. It had been so strange waking up next to someone. Yet it felt right in every way. Tristan had gently returned him to wakefulness by stroking the bridge of his nose lightly. He hadn't known before that he was that sensitive there. He hadn't been disappointed to find out.

Now he was working, while Tristan had gone to deal with the geek squad. He was positive that Joey had told them everything already, knowing his big, stupid mouth.

Seto hoped it wouldn't end badly.

"Anyway, that should about do it. Lady and gentlemen, I thank you for your time." Pegasus concluded. The other board members made their goodbyes and logged off.

"Hold on, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus interjected before Seto could also log off. It was just the two of them now.

"What?" Seto sighed. He really just wanted to get back to work. He needed to get his mind off of what Joey might be doing to Tristan right now.

"Are you all right? You seem distracted." Pegasus asked, concern showing on his face.

It surprised Seto. Pegasus never really cared before. Then again, he was being almost…_paternal _nowadays.

"It's nothing of importance." He insisted.

"I told you, you don't need to lie to me. I've – "

Pegasus was cut off by the door to Seto's study being kicked open, the heavy wooden barrier slamming hard into the wall..

Seto jumped to his feet, too surprised by this sudden intrusion to keep his poise. He was in a defensive stance as he looked toward the entryway.

Joey walked in, a look of pure hatred on his face.

"You!" the blond addressed in a gutteral shout reminiscent of an angry beast.

Seto flinched.

Joey crossed the office at bullet-speed, and the brunet lifted his hands to protect himself too late—this was Joey, after all; he didn't want to hurt the other boy if it wasn't necessary for them to get into a fight.

He was regretting his decision not to initiate pre-emptive self-defense when he was shoved against the wall, face-first.

"You bastard. What did you do to my friend?"

Seto felt genuinely scared. This must have been what Tristan was talking about. Joey's maximum rage. Not that he couldn't be rather scary himself, but that was all contrived. The persona he put forward for people to see—that was a front that worked to his advantage. In reality, he wasn't the cock-sure, crowd-charming extrovert he often pretended to be for the benefit of his image. Well, maybe he was pretty cock-sure, and certainly he held a certain level of arrogance…

But Joey was angry. Very, very angry—so much so that he'd slammed Seto into the wall hard enough that he'd popped his jaw rather badly. And it wasn't just an act to scare him off.

"I-I didn't do anything. He asked m-me out." He managed to say. Normally he would have berated himself for stuttering, but he was too panicked at present. It didn't help that his face was being ground into the wall so hard that he could barely form the words. His adrenaline kicked in, and he started attempting to devise a way to throw the other boy so he could escape. The only problem was, he didn't know how strong the blond actually was. Right now, one of Joey's hands was shoving his face into the wall, and the other was twisting his arm behind his back so forcefully that he thought it might get disjointed. And from how it felt, the enraged teenager was using no more than his upper body strength to keep Seto captive. There was little chance of breaking loose.

"Don't give me that bullshit. He's my best friend! If there wasn't anything fishy going on, he would have _told _me about this!"

Seto felt it would be unwise at this time to point out that Joey didn't really know anything more about Tristan than Tristan wished to reveal.

"How the hell did you convince him to be with a prick like you? Money? A job? What?" Joey demanded.

"You don't even know him," Seto muttered before he could stop himself.

Joey stared at him. "What?"

"And if you really care about him, don't belittle his character by assuming he'd _fuck _me for _money,_" Seto growled acerbicly, his nastier side emerging despite his survival skills telling him to keep his mouth shut.

"I know him. I know him better than anyone else!" Joey grabbed Seto's hair, pulled back, and slammed his head against the wall.

Seto saw stars, but his adrenaline was sufficient enough to help him recover without going into a panic.

"We've been together through everything. He's the one who helped me turn my life around! He got me out of the gang life, got me a job, was always there for me. No matter what!"

"Good for you," Seto huffed, the pain of having his arm twisted causing his temper to rise over his fear, "But just how much have you given him in return? Were you ever there for him? He was afraid to tell you about us. If you're so good a friend to him, then why would he have to feel that way?"

"You really think he cares about a bitch like you?" Joey snarled, "Who are you to assume that you mean anything to him? Tristan wasn't afraid to tell me about you! He didn't tell me because there's no point wasting breath on a one-hit conquest! _He doesn't care about you!"_

Seto felt like he had been punched in the gut. He fell slack momentarily in Joey's grip, the strength drained from his body. Is that what Tristan had gone to tell his friends? That it was all just a game? That couldn't be true—it couldn't! There had been plenty of times up to now that Tristan could have taken his virginity and run for the hills, but he didn't.

Or maybe that was just another ruse? Maybe he was trying to make Seto desperate, so he could brag that the bitch was begging for it…

He couldn't handle his own thoughts anymore. Rage swelled up in him so strongly that he had no choice but to release it, and he did so by pushing off of the wall so hard that an unsuspecting Joey was thrown to the floor. He turned, rolling his shoulder to ensure that it was still in place, and then lunging toward the blond, who was attempting to get up. His eyes blazed, his lips curled back in a snarl like he was some kind of insane animal, and true to that metaphor he scratched Joey across the face as a first line of attack. Before he could continue, however, Joey got both hands around his neck and pushed him up, then back. Seto didn't register what had happened until he was pressed against the wall, knees shaking as he fought against the hands that were constricting his throat. He couldn't muster any strength; it was as if his body reflexively delgated all its energy to not letting him choke to death. But given the strength of his assailant, and the glint in his hazel eyes, there was little chance of him surviving at this rate.

"_Joey_!"

A pair of hands yanked the other boy off of Seto. He slid down the wall to sit on the floor, gasping for air and coughing. He looked to see Yami pinning Joey to the floor, knowing that his friend wouldn't retaliate with violent force. Standing at the door was Duke, holding back an irate Tristan.

If looks could kill, Joey would have been burned alive by the look that Tristan was giving him while trying to get free.

"Let me go! I wanna finish him!" he screamed.

"Tristan! Tristan come on, you can't kill him!" Duke was trying to reason with him.

Two security guards entered and dragged Joey out. Seto wondered vaguely why he bothered hiring those goons if it took them so long to show up and save his ass.

Yami sat panting on the floor. He glanced at Seto.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

Seto stared back evenly, his face schooled into his usual air of dispassionate arrogance, though he felt far from it. He gave Yami a curt nod to set his mind at rest, and his rival took that as good enough assurance.

Tristan finally managed to pull free of the raven-haired man who had held him, and he hurried over to Seto. He pulled him to his feet and held him close.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. He told the others and while I was explaining myself, he snuck off."

Seto sighed, resting his head on Tristan's shoulder. He felt exhausted from the rush he'd experienced, and grunted in tired discomfort at the throbbing pain that was gradually becoming present in his shoulder. Tristan noticed.

"Oh God, did he hurt you?" his suitor whispered in his ear.

"Just banged my head against the wall. Twisted my arm a bit. Other than that, he just scared me. My body went into overdrive for a while."

Tristan tightened his grip.

A cough got their attention. They turned to see Yami looking slightly uncomfortable. Tristan reluctantly let Seto go with a huff.

"I can not apologize enough for Joey's actions. He shouldn't have done that. Make no mistake; I will ensure that he never does something like that again." Yami spoke in a calm, rational voice. "This…development came as a shock, but that's no excuse for a reaction like this." With that said, the tri-color haired boy started to leave.

"One more thing," he turned back to look at them, "Congratulations. You two actually make a good couple."

Yami threw them a winking smile, then left the premises. Seto flushed a deep shade of red.

Duke just stood silently for a few moments.

"Dude, I didn't even know you swung that way." He finally spoke, seeming almost disappointed that he hadn't been privy to this knowledge.

Tristan slapped his forehead, and the smirking dice master left, satisfied. Tristan just snorted.

"Well, as you can see, they took it better than Joey. Tea was actually asking me how our relationship was progressing. And she wanted every detail. Especially the physical ones. It was kind of creepy," He laughed.

Seto remained quiet. A silent doubt had wormed its way into his mind.

"Neko? What's wrong?" Tristan asked, looking at the brunet's face.

Seto bit his lip.

"Why did you pick me to love?"

Tristan blinked, looking as if this question seemed unfounded to him. They had begun to walk out of Seto's study in the interests of going to his bedroom.

"I've always watched you from afar. I just fell in love. Why? What did Joey say?" The other boy asked, growing anxious.

"Nothing. Just…why do you love me?" Seto couldn't believe he was asking these things. They didn't seem very conventional, but they were nagging at the back of his mind. He had been wondering for days.

Tristan led him down the hall to his bedroom, sat on the couch and pulled Seto onto his lap. He gave Seto a quick kiss, though Seto couldn't really return it at the moment.

"I love you because you're _strong_. No matter what, you never back down—nothing can defeat you. You always know how to take control of a situation."

This sudden tirade of compliments took Seto by surprise. It wasn't just flattery—Tristan had obviously had this on his mind for some time.

"I love how you can hold your head high, no matter how bad it is. I love how you always put your brother first, even if it means sacrificing something that you want, if it makes him happy. I love how even though you show anger, you care, regardless what you say. You let nothing stop you," Tristan whispered in his ear.

Seto flushed again.

"I wanted to make you mine the minute I laid my eyes on you. The way you walked, your voice, your eyes, they hypnotized me. I wanted to hold you close and keep you safe from the world, from all those who have hurt you. Don't ever doubt that I love you. I love you more than you could ever imagine. I love you Seto."

Seto felt light. Tristan really loved him. It didn't seem real, but it was; the depth of the emotions the other boy felt for him made his knees weak, and he was so overwhelmed that he felt the need to crouch in the floor with his hands over his eyes, like a child. Suddenly he felt hot tears dripping down his face. He jolted, wiping the warm liquid from his cheek in a panic.

Oh God, why am I crying? No! It's a sign of weakness! It's a sign of…

"Shh, it's okay." Tristan assured him. He whipped Seto's tears away with his thumbs. "Crying is a sign of great pain, and great joy."

Seto pressed his lips to Tristan's as more tears fell down his face.

That's what I feeling; joy. He loves me. He really loves me.

Tristan wrapped his arms around Seto without hesitation when the brunet leaned forward and buried his face in his suitor's shoulder.

"I…I love you." Seto whispered. "I love you Tristan."

Tristan kissed him again, holding him close. "I love you too, Seto Kaiba. And I always will."

* * *

><p>Seto lay in Tristan's arms, his head resting against the other's broad chest. They had been like that for a while. It was nice. Relaxing.<p>

Seto smiled. He no longer had any concerns about whether Tristan loved him or not. Tristan had taken care of all those thoughts. Now they were just together—no worries about anything, at least for the moment. This whole day had been one big wild event. New school, new friends, the geek squad found out about them. What an ordeal. It was enough to stop Seto's sex drive in its tracks, that being the only reason he wasn't currently scheming some way to get Tristan to have a little fun.

He didn't want to get up, but something told him that Mokuba would be home soon, and that he would now know about his big brother's relationship. He would have some explaining to do. As such, he just wanted to lie there a little while longer…

"Kaiba-boy! Are you in there?"

Or he would get up now.

Careful not to wake Tristan, Seto got to his feet and walked over to the door. He opened it to find Pegasus standing there, looking worried.

"Are you all right?"

Seto stepped out and quietly shut the door.

"What?"

"Don't you 'what' me. I saw what happened earlier." Pegasus hissed.

Seto was confused by this, knowing that Pegasus was miles away at the company building at the time. Then realization dawned on him.

"Ah, yes. The web-chat was still active."

"Bingo. Now, are you all right? Did he hurt you at all? Do you need a doctor or—"

"Pegasus, I'm fine. Yami pulled him off me and the security dragged him out. He didn't hurt me, just banged my head and twisted my arm a bit." Seto explained.

"Are you sure?"

Seto nodded.

"Alright," Pegasus sighed. "But if he tries to hurt you again, we're getting a restraining order."

"Fine." Seto agreed. _Though I doubt that will ever happen. Yami's probably setting him straight right now anyway. _

"And _furthermore,"_ Pegasus grimaced, "If something like that occurs in the future, I'd _appreciate _it if you'd get in touch with me!"

"Okay, fine! I get it," Seto snapped, less than pleased with being pecked at. He'd never answered to anyone before, and he wasn't eager to start now.

"Well then," the older man carried on, "It's dinnertime, and your brother's home! You should come downstairs. I recommend you bring Tristan with you."

Seto sighed, both at his future prospects and the fact that Pegasus was back to his flamboyant self.

_Time to face Mokuba._

He re-entered his bedroom, crossed the floor and tentatively shook Tristan's shoulder.

"Hey, wake up. It's time for dinner, and you're staying."

Tristan yawned, blinking adorably as he stretched himself.

"Okay, I'm up. Just let me call me mom. You go on down."

Seto smiled. "Fine, but make sure you're downstairs in five minutes."

He walked down stairs slowly, nervous about what his brother would say. He entered the dinning room to find both Pegasus and Mokuba there. He gulped. Sitting down, he avoided eye contact.

"So, is Tristan _dating_ you or _courting_ you?" Mokuba's voice filled his ears.

Seto's head shot up. That was not what he was expecting.

"Where did you hear that?"

"Oh, Tea told me you were going out. Then Pegasus told me he was courting you. So which is it?" Mokuba asked with wide, curious eyes.

Seto glared at Pegasus. He'd wanted to explain this to Mokuba first.

"It's the same thing."

"Oh, well cool! Always _knew_ you'd be into guys." Mokuba accepted this information flippantly.

Seto choked on his water, immediately beginning to cough. Pegasus reached over from where he sat and thumped him on the back.

"What? Was it something I said?" Mokuba asked, confused.

"What made you think I was interested in guys?" Seto demanded after catching his breath at last.

Mokuba shrugged.

"Well, you never seemed to like girls, so I just assumed. I guess I was right." He smiled.

Seto felt his face turn bright red with both embarrassment and a twinge of anger.

I cannot believe my brother! Just because I don't drool over girls, he assumes I'm gay. Well, he's right, but still!

"What's going on?"

They all turned to see Tristan walking in. He sat beside Seto.

"Nothing." Seto muttered. Tristan raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off.

"So Mokuba, you're okay with this?" he asked.

"Yeah! I think it's great. So have you guys had sex yet?"

Seto was once again choking, this time on a piece of steak. Tristan had turned a dark crimson. Pegasus pounded on Seto's back in an another attempt to help him breathe. After Seto was cleared, Pegasus turned to Mokuba.

"One, you're much too young to be asking questions like that. Two, it's none of your business. And three, please be careful what you say. I don't think your brother wants to choke to death." He berated calmly.

Mokuba ducked his head, embarrassed, mumbling something about how he was just _curious_.

The rest of dinner managed to pass without any more questions about Seto's sex life, much to the brunet's relief.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! Hope you liked this one. And no one has responded to the question in the last chapter! If someone doesn't answer it, I'm gonna go two weeks without posting! <strong>

**Come on, just try. Even if you get it wrong I'll tell ya.**


	10. Notice: Important

**Hello to all my Readers:**

**Please go to my Profile page. It's important. Do not ignore this.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Hi, sorry it took so long to update. I was getting chapter 10 and 11 done. 11 will be along tonight or tomorrow. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any Characters or ideas that belong to it. **

* * *

><p>Chapter 10<p>

_Two months. It's been two months since Tristan and I started this little romance of ours._

It was study hall, and the others were busy talk—well, having their meeting. Since all the members of their little group had the same study period, Nina had decided to host her club meetings there on Fridays. There was a grand total of ten members in the room, if one included himself, Tristan, Ash, Astrid, Jason, and a few other people whose names Seto had yet to learn, mainly because they were irrelevant in his opinion.

Tristan was resting his hand on Seto's thigh in a loving (and less than platonic) way. His skin tingled where his suitor touched him, and despite the anticipation that was growing in his chest, he honestly just liked the simple contact—unobtrusive, unimposing contact.

_It just feels so…perfect. _

He smiled slightly to himself. The geek squad was completely used to the idea of him and Tristan being together. Joey still was a little tense, but he never said or did anything about it. Yami had done something to him that evidently got him under control, and he had apologized to Seto for his actions the next day. When Seto asked Tristan what Yami had done, his suitor had shuddered and told him that he was better off not knowing. He was able to accept that. The 'other Yugi' had once banished him to a nightmare in which he was repeatedly torn apart by monsters; not that he hadn't instigated that response, but those seven days of hell haunted his nightmares even to this day, rousing him from troubled sleep to lie awake in the suffocating darkness. He still remembered the pain—or illusion of pain—he had felt during the 'Penalty Game', and the fear he'd experienced. It wasn't something from which he would recover quickly.

So no, he wasn't going to ask for details about what Yami had done to Joey.

However, he had noticed that ever since Tristan and him had started their relationship, he never have any nightmares or waking up in the dead of night in fear. To be precise, ever since Tristan gave him Shadow, not that he would ever admit that the stuffed toy was protecting him in his sleep.

The rest of the gang seemed to support them. Tea had gone so far as to slip Seto tips on how to get Tristan into bed, which only served to make him slightly freaked out and result in his trying to avoid her. He appreciated the help, but honestly. It was so awkward. She was far too enthusiastic about him and Tristan having sex, and he was hardly _close_ with her—sex was _not _a topic on which he thought they should share tips.

Pegasus was the most supportive, to Seto's surprise. He'd thought his associate was just using his relationship to embarrass him before now. However, the man seemed genuinely pleased with their relationship, frequently insisting on Tristan coming to visit or Seto going over to the other boy's house for dinner—and giving them quite a lot of time alone, to boot. And Tristan's parents approved of him immediately. Mia, Tristan's mother, was all over him. She always reminded Seto of his own late mother. The soft but energetic way she spoke, the undivided attention she gave him when he was talking, her gentle but firm mannerisms—it all made him feel melancholy with old memories. It made it difficult at times for him to be in her presence, but he couldn't bring himself to shun her.

Charles, Tristan's father, seemed just as accepting, but not nearly as smothering or involved. He was the grounded one in the family, the average bacon-bringing man of the house whose son just happened to be gay.

But what really amazed Seto was that he had vanished from the media. There were no longer any long scandal articles about him or paparazzi following him around. No gossip, no television specials, nothing since the merge. He supposed that it must be because he wasn't actively seeking the attention any more. He had all ready become more obscure since he had officially retired from playing Duel Monsters professionally, but at this point, he was just another corporate executive that the media chose to ignore, lest the average person find out the names and faces of those who had more money than they. It seemed that the world only ever focused on the person on top, which was now Pegasus.

It was …relieving. He no longer worried about how his every minor decision would affect his public appearance, or what would come of it if he held Tristan's hand in public. He could walk down the street in the middle of the day, undisguised, and not have to look this way and that to avoid paparazzi. He had become just another teenager, his status and business a secret known only to those with whom he chose to share.

It also made things easier with Tristan. They could go anywhere without worrying about it being on a magazine somewhere. He wouldn't be surprised that if the world eventually forgot his name, what with the new generation of top duelists rising and leaving his (and even Yugi's) name in the dust. Much as losing the prestige deflated his ego; he had to admit—if only to himself—that his secret wish had always been to live his private life without risking the scrutiny of a billion sets of eyes.

"Now, on to more pressing matters." Nina's voice cut through his train of thought. He turned his focus back to the wild girl.

"Summer break starts today, and for all who know, that means the annual Summer Bash!"

Seto stared vacantly.

_What?_

Nina started handing out invitations. Seto opened his to find a black card with white lettering. The party was tomorrow night. At Nina's house by the ocean. It was an all-night party.

Seto blinked again. He was invited to a party. A _party_. A party for only teens.

In his whole life, he had never been to an event such as this with kids his own age. It had always been with the wealthy elite—the one percent, so to speak. Adults all, formal and stuffed into suits or dresses better suited for a high society ball. They had been events planned and executed by Gozaburo, back when Seto had been a child, wandering the room as he talked and drank with the two-faced hyenas that KaibaCorp once called 'sponsors'.

This was completely different. A bunch of teenagers, drinking what could be anything from fruit punch to absinthe, smoking, taking drugs, dancing to dark and heavy rhythms in low light. It was dangerous, though Gozaburo's parties had been dangerous in their own way—just not on the surface. He knew that. But he wasn't exactly in a hurry to jump on the bandwagon for a huge teen gala in an upper-class neighborhood. He knew what happened at wild parties. Property damage, vandalism, and theft, for starters. People would be getting a social high, doing things they shouldn't, like getting drunk or…having sex.

He glanced at Tristan, who was smiling.

Just then the bell rang, signaling that school was over.

Seto was actually starting to like school (a little). With Ash's help, he was getting pretty good at art and had taken up the piano in music class. It was actually challenging for him. And no one seemed to care that he was Seto Kaiba. Then again, this was Kyoto, not a smaller city like Domino. Here, there were bigger idols to worship—Ayumi the pop queen, Gackt the Dear Angel of J-rock, and a slew of other big names who often performed in the former capitol of Japan.

He followed Tristan outside and climbed into his truck. Tristan had become his driver to and from school, which he didn't mind in the least.

"Let me guess, wondering about the Bash?" Tristan asked as he started up the truck.

"Yes," Seto confirmed.

"Every year when Summer break starts, Nina throws the biggest party and invites everyone she can for one wild night. So, you wanna go? I know it's last minute, but that's how Nina works."

Seto remained quiet. He didn't know. There were too many variables. Anything could happen at a party with such open invitations involved. A teenage party that lasted all night would lead to wild behavior and sleep deprivation-induced decisions that would likely be bad ideas when the sun came up. Attending seemed rather immature, and not fitting for someone who was an Executive Chairman of a hundred billion-dollar—

Oh, screw it. He was going to attend regardless. Maybe getting 'crunk' would work out in his best interests. Especially if Tristan got in the spirit.

"Sure."

* * *

><p>"Oh, you're going to a <em>party?<em>"

Seto groaned. _Why did he have to find that invite?_ Seto had accidentally dropped the invite after arriving home, and the annoying silver-haired fox with whom he lived happened to pick it up and read it. And was now currently cornering Seto in his room. Well, figuratively speaking. Seto was sitting at his desk, and Pegasus had him sitting down with his back to the wall. Not a good position.

"Yes," he muttered grudgingly.

_Okay, need to change the subject…_

"That's wonderful! It's about time you started interacting with kids your own age," Pegasus chimed cheerfully.

_Okay, plan B: leave the room. _

Seto started to make his way over to the door, but Pegasus cut him off.

"Just don't do anything that you'll regret," He smirked devilishly.

Seto felt the urge to growl but ignored it. A blush appeared on his face.

"Just what do you _think _I'm going to do? Get drunk? Take ecstacy and start 'rolling' all night? Perhaps I'll indulge in LSD and watch the ceiling swim around."

"Don't be snide, Kaiba-boy. I mean it. I could tell you horror stories of what I did at parties. In fact, there was one time when I drank so much that I accidentally mistook a young man for—"

"I do _not _want to hear this!" Seto snarled, covering his ears and fleeing the room. He had a strong hunch as to where that situation was headed, and he really didn't want that image in his head. Any more than it all ready was.

"Now you're just being rude!" Pegasus called after him, laughing.

Seto headed downstairs and out the door. He was too antsy to stay inside, and he had something he needed to do. He entered the garage beside the house, pulled out his phone and dialed Ash's number. As he waited for his friend to answer, he got into his car.

"Hello?"

"Hello Ash."

"Oh hey Seto, what's up?"

"I need a little help with something…" Seto bit his lip, feeling slightly embarrassed by what he was about to ask. Certainly, a man of his standing, with his sense for appearance and fine attire, shouldn't need help with this.

"What is it?"

"Um…I…have no idea what to wear to the party?" Seto cursed himself for stumbling over his own words. But it was true; he had no idea. He'd only ever worn three-piece to all the adult parties, so that Gozaburo could show off his little trophy and all the adults could chortle at how cute he looked in his 'little suit', but he had no idea what to wear to a teen party. He didn't want to overdress, or end up looking like a slut…

"No problem. There's a place in Kyoto where we can get what you need."

Ash gave him the address and Seto left the garage, making his way down the drive and turning onto the road bound for Kyoto.

* * *

><p>Seto stood in front of the bathroom mirror, ensuring again that his hair was absolutely under control.<p>

_The last thing I need is to go to a party with a bad hair day. _

He knew, as he brushed through his locks again, that his hair was the least of his worries right now. It was silky, heavy, and healthy—the kind of hair that commercials said they could give to anyone. It always was that way, and always would be if his bloodline was any indication.

No, the true root of his nervousness was the fact that that Tristan would be picking him up in twenty minutes, and Seto felt like a wreck. He had been thinking about calling this whole thing off all night. But every time he thought like that, a new voice in the back of his head told him to just relax.

He pulled his new shirt over his head. Ash had practically given him a brand-new wardrobe, from simple button down shirts and plain T-shirts to all sorts of screen-Ts.

He chose to wear a dark green shirt that read _Dark Paladin_ in stylized letters—it was the name of the brand that produced the article of clothing. This particular shirt was a tank top that exposed his midriff, the sleeves, collar, and abdominal covering made of a close-knit netting that only exposed glimpses of the underlying skin at certain angles. Teasing, but not blatant. He had acquired a pair of black jeans that had silver zippers on all the pockets and fitted his thighs just tightly enough to show off how great his legs were. They were designed with mild flares that further exploited his shapely limbs by accentuating his calves. He was wearing a thick black leather choker on his neck that closed with a buckle, and matching wrist cuffs; he topped it off with a steel-studded belt. He knew he looked good; it would be foolish to think otherwise.

But now he was worried that Tristan would think he was too dressed up or something, or that he was trying to attract someone's attention at the party, or—

His phone lit up, signaling that he had a text.

_Hey, Neko. I'm outside. _

Tristan.

Seto took a deep breath, and impulsively grabbed a simple black jacket to wear. It was too hot to wear a jacket, but he suddenly felt very exposed by what he was wearing—naked, even. At least the jacket would cover his arms, and his stomach too if he zipped it up. After doing so, he quietly dashed down the stairs to avoid waking Mokuba (or worse, Pegasus). Walking outside, he saw Tristan standing next to his Motorcycle.

"Hey babe." Tristan smiled, planting a kiss on Seto's cheek.

Seto blushed. "Hey."

Tristan leaned back to take in the executive's appearance.

"Don't be offended, but…aren't you hot in that jacket?"

Seto couldn't say anything. He stared at the motorcycle, arms crossed, too nervous and embarrassed to respond. Tristan seemed concerned.

"Did I do something?"

"No," the ocean-eyed boy shook his head, "I just…don't think you'll like what I'm wearing."

Tristan looked him up and down momentarily.

"Well, the pants look good," he grinned, "Maybe a bit _too _good. I may have trouble keeping my hands off of you."

His suitor accentuated this statement by moving closer and placing a hand on either of Seto's hips while the brunet blushed and averted his gaze. Tristan nuzzled his neck, tickling him and making him chuckle quietly. The moment his guard dropped, he was suddenly turned and pulled close to the other. Before he could say anything about it, though, a heated kiss landed on his mouth, and all he really cared to do was let Tristan hold him while they made out in his driveway. The other teen's hand drifted over his hip and gave his tightly-clad hind end a squeeze, causing him to gasp quietly. He started panting, letting his head fall back so Tristan could kiss his neck while he unzipped the dark jacket that was suddenly far too warm.

Seto's mind was in a haze by the time the jacket started to slide off of his shoulders, and it was only after its removal that Tristan stopped touching him altogether.

"What the…?" He stared at his suitor in disbelief as he realized he'd been played yet again. Tristan had seriously just sexed him up for the sole purpose of seeing what he was wearing under the jacket. He felt a little bit less hostile, though, when he saw Tristan's eyes glaze over.

"Hot _damn,"_ the other boy sighed, "Is this your revenge on me for teasing you so much?"

"N—yes," Seto took the opportunity to lie, "Yes it is. Perhaps you should consider _not _teasing me in the future."

Then he saw something he never had before—an impish smirk on Tristan's face, the sparkle in his eyes promising future mischief that may take him by surprise.

"You ready?" His suitor asked, nodding toward the motorcycle.

"I suppose," Seto sighed, still a little unsure.

"Don't worry, it'll be fun. Just remember: if you set your drink down, never pick it back up. Smell everything before you drink it, because sometimes things that look and taste like punch started their existence as ever clear. People are probably going to take drugs, but no one is going to make you do it. And if Nina offers you some kind of red liquid, do _not_ drink it, understand?" Tristan instructed, getting on the bike.

"Why…"

"I think you're better off not knowing. Trust me."

Seto tried not to be overly disturbed by this as he climbed onto the bike behind Tristan and held on firmly as they took off.

They drove to Kyoto, but this time they stayed on the outskirts of the city until they drove out of the prefecture proper and reached the coast. The air was cooler, likely because the breeze carried sea spray. Seto could smell the salt and hear the waves lapping against the shore; he knew that the water off the coast of Japan was blue and clear as crystal, and a comfortable seventy degrees in the summer. As a child, he had once had the opportunity to swim in the coral reefs with the brightly-colored fish and watch the crawdads and starfish crawl along the shallows. He felt a little choked up at the memory—it had been a long time since anything brought _that _to mind. It seemed that being around Tristan and the people he knew brought back more and more memories (and feelings) from his early life.

The road was long and empty as they drove near the beach; it was just them, the echoing sound of the revving motorcycle, and the moonlit water that he knew was beside them. In the distance, he saw the shape of a house growing steadily larger, the many large and open windows well-lit by strobe, black, and multi-colored lights. There were dozens of cars parked along the road leading up to the place.

Nina's house was large. Not as large as Kaiba Mansion, mind—but still upper class. Seto wondered if he'd ever done business with Nina's parents. The place was right by the ocean, three stories high, had a giant stone pool outside and a greenhouse attached. Each floor had different lights flashing—the ground floor had blacklights, likely intended for the hardcore ravers among them. The windows on that floor kept vibrating due to heavy bass and pulses. All the noise and light from inside the building made it like a candle flickering in the pitch darkness of the nighttime shore.

They pulled into the driveway and parked slightly away from the cars that were already there. They dismounted the motorcycle, removing their helmets and hiding them in the nearby planters lest they get stolen.

"Come on," Tristan smirked, leading Seto up the walkway to the front door. He knocked, despite being invited _and _knowing the homeowner personally.

The door opened to reveal a very, _very_ hyper Nina. She was practically bouncing in place. Loud music that had been just a baseline pulse from the outside slammed into them like a wall of sound.

"Hi! I was wondering when you guys were going to get here. Come on in."

There were about thirty people mingling in the lower part of the house, and they were being herded toward the back—toward the beach—where there was a giant rec room. This proved to be full of moving multi-colored lights along with the dark violet atmosphere of the blacklights. The music was so loud and bass-filled that Seto could feel it in his _soul_; within seconds, the rhythmic pulse of the bass was like his own heartbeat, the _wub _of low-pitch synths like a singing machine. The heavy synth leads were like the excitement of sex crackling through his chest.

Some people seemed to be dancing, some looking far more happy than was natural—likely, they were rolling off of ecstasy, but as Tristan had said, they didn't seem to be trying to push anyone else into taking it. A light scent of skunky smoke reached his nose, mingled with a smell like a bonfire, and he knew that someone, somewhere, was smoking various substances. He didn't much care—they weren't in his space. Nina seemed to have gathered a group of self-conscious (if a bit wild) people. The rising and swelling energy of the room combined with the music shaking through him was like entering another world.

_Wow,_ Seto thought, dumbstruck, as Tristan pulled him through the crowd of people.

"What do you think?" Tristan asked, shouting close to his ear, since it was impossible to hear otherwise.

"It's loud," Seto managed. He wasn't a fan of _loud. _This particular noise had yet to offend him, but he had no guarantees for after the novelty wore away.

"Yeah, that takes some getting used to. Come on, let's go over here," Tristan pulled him into a dark corner.

Suddenly the music switched to a slow song. It began with a woman's haunting, echoing voice, and eventually, heavy tribal drums accompanied her

Seto froze. _Oh god._

Tristan didn't even blink. He pulled Seto up against him and looped his arms around the brunet's waist. Seto suddenly found himself bringing his arms up around Tristan's neck. They started swaying.

Glancing around, Seto watched all the other couples pairing up and dancing. He bit his lip, fighting an embarrassed smile. The song playing filled his senses and invoked emotions he hadn't felt in years. He closed his eyes, swaying, truly _feeling _a song for what was possibly the first time in his life.

_I can't believe I'm doing this._

"_Went over the sea_

_What did I find?"_

"You okay?" Tristan asked, looking concerned.

"I'm fine. Just fine," Seto smiled.

Tristan returned the gesture, then stared at him with dilated eyes; the tall boy stared back, wondering just what was going through the other boy's head.

"_A thousand crystal towers,_

_A hundred emerald cities…"_

Tristan leaned slowly closer until their lips met. It felt good. The heavy drums and haunting ambience of the song rumbled through his body and made him long for the man he all ready knew he had. He felt Tristan's tongue slide across his lower lip, and he opened his mouth in invitation.

"_And the hand of the watchman_

_In the night sky_

_Points to my beloved:_

_A knight in crystal armor."_

Tristan's tongue rubbed against his own sensually as they shared heated kisses, their bodies wrapped together as close as was possible while still standing and moving around. Tristan's hand ran up and down Seto's spine a few times before pushing under his shirt to caress his heated back. He broke the kiss momentarily to sigh wantonly. Here they were, in the middle of a dark room surrounded by strangers, molesting each other. He was sure that if he saw someone else doing this sort of thing, he would strongly disapprove.

Though perhaps now he finally understood _why _other people did this sort of thing.

He dove back in to kiss Tristan, who gripped him tightly and pulled them closer together. Seto felt as if there was a great hole in the middle of his chest, one that only stopped aching when his and Tristan's hearts began to beat in unison due to their close proximity.

"_Flames fell into orbit_

_To hold, eternally,_

_Two heavenly spirits_

_That just wouldn't seem_

_To be made of glass…"_

They parted to breathe, and Seto nuzzled Tristan's jaw. The female singer was wailing primally, her emotion evident, and the air of sadness and longing only made Seto want to hold Tristan longer. Nothing seemed to exist outside of their joined forms as they continued to sway slightly on the dance floor.

Suddenly, the music picked back up. They both chuckled slightly as they were released from the raw feeling the song had evoked in them. Tristan led him to the drink table and grabbed two cola cans from a cooler full of ice. He handed one to Seto.

"Hi you two!"

They looked up to see Nina standing before them, linking arms with Astrid. "Wanna try some of this?" She held out a cup filled with a red liquid that Seto couldn't help but think had the consistency of _blood_.

"We're good, Nina." Tristan smiled, looking nervous.

"You sure, it's really good?"

"Positive."

Nina stumbled away. Astrid turned to them.

"Smart. Heaven knows what that stuff will do to your dreams." She walked off.

Seto stared after them, disturbed, and Tristan just laughed jovially at his friends' behavior.

* * *

><p>Seto leaned against Tristan as they sat on a love seat watching people leave.<p>

"Hey, this party is supposed to last all night!" Nina called, swaying from where she stood on top of the food table. "Come on! Crank up the music." She then slipped and fell face first in the salsa, causing the table to collapse. Seto was beginning to think that her drink from earlier had been a Bloody Mary.

"Is she drunk?" He asked, genuinely concerned for her.

"Probably not. This is Nina on a caffeine low." Tristan snickered. "So, do you want to stay the night or head home?"

Seto sighed. It was two am in the morning. He did _not_ feel like getting caught sneaking in by Pegasus.

And in addition to that, the feelings he'd had when he and Tristan had danced—the feelings the song had given him…it was as if his experiences with loneliness and solitude had been put into song, and yet the song had been about finding someone. He knew he had someone now, and somehow, he didn't feel right going home. He wanted to be with Tristan.

"Stay the night. Is that okay?"

"Sure, I don't mind," Tristan smiled, "Nina's fine with it. Even if she's not entirely aware of her surroundings." He muttered, as they both watched Astrid help lift her head out of the salsa.

"Come on, I know a place where we can get away from all the noise these sleep-deprived folks are making."

He took Seto's hand and led him out the back door toward the large green house. Tristan punched the combination into the security terminal beside the door and led Seto inside. It was like a jungle. Plants of all kinds sprouted up everywhere, from tall trees with broad, shining leaves, to flowers of any imaginable shape and color—most of them were bright and tropical like ones that might be found in Hawaii.

Tristan pulled him through the foliage to a small clearing.

It was breath taking. There was a small waterfall off to the side, draining into a small pool that supported what looked like crimson water lilies. They almost seemed to glow in the moonlight. Looking around them, Seto noticed that they were surrounded by the most beautiful and unusual flowers he had ever seen. There were yellow primroses, what looked like white morning glories, creamy yellow flowers that were shaped like lilies, flowers he knew were lilies with six petals that released a sweet fragrance; flowers with narrow, lance-shaped stems and spoon-shaped lower petals, and star-shaped blue-purple flowers with their yellow pollen almost glowing. There was bamboo growing next to the pool.

"Wow," Seto managed. It seemed to be his new catch phrase.

"Thought you'd like it. This is my favorite spot in the whole green house. It also holds the flowers that only bloom at night," Tristan smirked.

Seto blinked impassively at him, not sure how to respond. Tristan walked to the pool.

"These," he gestured to the water lilies, "Are Night Bloom Water Lilies. They're never white, only this crimson." He walked over to yellow primroses, "These are Evening Primroses," the white morning glories, "Moon Flowers," the creamy flowers "Night Gladiolus," the sweet smelling flowers, "Casablanca Lilies," the spoon-shaped petals, "these are Nottingham Catchflies, and these," now the blue-purple star flowers, "are Four O' Clocks."

"Four O' Clocks?" Seto asked. _What a strange name for a flower. _

"Normally they bloom at four in the morning, but for some odd reason, these bloom at one in the morning." Tristan explained, "I think Nina's _weird _rubbed off on them."

Seto glanced about.

"They're beautiful."

Tristan smiled, then pulled out a light blue blanket from behind a tree and laid it across the floor. Seto was a little surprised by this. Was that blanket just there offhand? Did someone put it there?

…Did Tristan put it there, planning ahead for this event?

His suitor lay down and motioned for Seto to join him. Seto lay beside him without question. He was hardly opposed, after all. Once he'd settled down on his back, Tristan pointed upward. Seto looked and almost gasped. The sky was clear, unhindered by city lights as it often was in Domino; the moon was full, large, and pale, glowing brightly The stars winked down at them, countless celestial bodies that had seen billions of human generations come and go. A large glass windowpane in the roof had been opened to let in the night air, and gave them a full, direct view of the moon. It was so bright that Seto wondered how he didn't notice it sooner. It was the only thing illuminating the area, after all, and he could see with almost daylight vision.

Tristan began to kiss his neck.

Seto gasped in surprise but tilted his head up, giving Tristan more access. Tristan moved so that he was on top of Seto, taking the dominant position between his slender legs. He kissed Seto on the lips, then made his way to the spot behind Seto's ear, which he had discovered was Seto's weak spot about a week ago. His hands pinned the taller boy's wrists to the ground. Their lip contact was heated as it had been on the dance floor, and some part of Seto thought that perhaps Tristan had been awakened by the song in the same way he himself had been.

Seto moaned. He felt Tristan slide his hands up and down his sides, pinching softly here and there. One hand moved down and began to caress Seto's thigh as he arched and gasped out of sensitivity. He gripped Tristan's shoulders desperately, trying to will his partner to move further and faster; he was well aroused, an erection materializing quickly in his pants, and a stinging ache in his chest that drove him to do _more. _

Tristan's hand ran up and down his inner thigh as he continued to kiss and nibble Seto's neck, and the other hand burrowed under his shirt. He gasped in surprise when he felt his nipple being pinched, something that he had not yet experienced. He drew up his knees to trap Tristan between his thighs and wrapped one arm over his boyfriend's back. He was going insane. His body was hot, lightning crackling through him every time Tristan's lips shifted against his flesh. He was barely even being touched, and his toes were curling, his back arching. He couldn't take much more.

"Tristan," Seto moaned, "Please, n-no teasing. Not now."

"I'm not teasing anymore," Tristan whispered huskily.

Seto stilled.

_Does he mean…?_

* * *

><p><strong>Please review. <strong>

**Chapter 11 will be along within twenty-four hours.**


	12. Chapter 11

**Here it is! What you've all been waiting for!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh**

**Thanks: Thank you to my Beta who wrote fifty percent of this.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 11<p>

Tristan sucked on Seto's neck causing, him to whine. The brunet felt strong hands push his jacket from his shoulders and off of his body.

_Oh god, he's not teasing! We're really going to…_

His thoughts were interrupted by Tristan pulling up his shirt, exposing his chest. Seto slowly lifted his arms to allow Tristan to pull the shirt the off of his body before tossing it away.

He closed his eyes and shivered as the night air hit his torso. It wasn't cold, but the breeze entering through the open window was enough to cause goosebumps to appear on his skin. He felt his nipples harden from the low temperature as he rubbed his arms. Tristan didn't make things much easier—he started tweaking the hard nubs as he kissed Seto's neck, hot breath tickling the sensitive skin. The executive gasped and writhed, pressing his pelvis against the other boy's body. Then the touch was gone, and he opened his eyes and mouth to complain.

Upon opening his eyes, however, he suddenly stopped short. Tristan had shrugged out of his jacket and was pulling his shirt over his head. Seto found his gaze raking over Tristan's upper body. His suitor was sporting a six pack that wasn't bulging, but was visibly toned and devoid of excess fat. His arms were lean, but Seto could see the muscles rippling under the skin. In the moonlight, Tristan's tan flesh seemed copper, and gave him a mysterious glow. What surprised him more than anything was the tattoo that adorned the other's shoulder. It was tribal, and a little like his own. He suddenly understood why Nina gave him the one she had done. She'd been making them match, and he hadn't even known about it.

_His body looks like that of a Greek God. And even some of them would be jealous,_ Seto thought in amazement, feeling himself hardening at the sight of the Adonis that was over him. Tristan stared down at him, warily at first, but after realizing he had Seto's approval, a small smile crossed his face.

Seto began to shake in anticipation as Tristan's hands shifted to his pants.

This was where it usually ended, but not tonight.

He felt a blush form on his face as Tristan slid his pants off his slim form; tossed away just like his shirt, unneeded and unwanted. Seto's breathing increased pace as he grew more aroused. He could barely lie still, so quickly was his excitement rising—as was made evident by his tenting boxer shorts. He watched as Tristan fingered the top of his boxers for a brief moment, then slowly slid them down. Seto felt his face turn an even darker shade of red as he lay completely exposed, his member twitching in the cool air. He had to resist the urge to cover himself. Despite his embarrassment, he was finally (finally!) getting what he'd wanted for many long weeks.

Tristan's gaze was raking over his naked body with dark, lust-filled eyes, making him felt more embarrassed.

_Why is he staring?_ _When is he going to do something?_

It wasn't like his body was all that impressive. While he did work out, he always stayed lean, and was essentially incapable of gaining weight in muscle or fat. If anything, Seto sometimes thought his body was a bit feminine. Petit and delicate, with long, slender legs and fingers, and a curving spine.

Tristan smirked.

"Your skin's glowing," He muttered huskily.

_What? _

Seto glanced down. It was true. The moonlight was causing his pale skin to turn an ivory white color that almost seemed to radiate light. His tattoo looked even more prominent against his skin. He didn't know whether to feel embarrassed or flattered. Tristan seemed to find the whole thing amusing enough.

Suddenly Tristan's hand was on his own pants. He pulled his belt loose, undid the fastener, then pulled the zipper down slowly, leaning forward on his hips as he did so and knowing that it was driving Seto crazy. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally removed his pants and boxers at once, tossing them away where they wouldn't be a bother.

Seto felt his breath catch in his throat as he drank in the sight. Tristan's legs were relatively slim, but thick with muscle, from years of running and fighting. His muscle tone was even across his entire body, like that of someone who had gained their shape through sword fighting or some kind of intense sport. More than his limbs, though, his cock was what held the brunet's attention.

_Oh my God. He's… he'll break me. _

Tristan was larger than him by a few inches, much thicker, and at this point so hard that his tip was swollen dark and shining.

"Like what you see?" Tristan smirked, following Seto's gaze. Seto couldn't speak; he was too caught up in wondering whether or not he would be impaled this evening. Tristan chuckled, then bent down, licking one of his nipples. This proved to be ample distraction; Seto snapped from his trance and arched his back, crying out softly. Tristan teased the other nub with his fingers, sending jolts of excitement through his body. He was heating quickly despite the chill air, his toes curling in elation from the feelings that wracked his body. Seto moaned, bucking his hips, causing his and Tristan's erections to rub together. They both moaned in pleasure at the friction. At this rate, he was going to lose it before they could finish the deed.

"Tristan, please!" Seto cried. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Hush, my little Nekomata. I'll give you what you want," Tristan whispered breathlessly, his skin beginning to shine with perspiration. He lowered his mouth onto Seto's collarbone and trailed his lips down his body. Seto shuddered as Tristan traced his tongue over his tattoo. That place was becoming his weak spot. He bucked his hips again, trying to force the other boy to hurry.

Tristan placed a kiss below his naval, then gripped Seto's cock.

Seto's eyes flew open, and he let out a loud moan as Tristan pumped him gently. He had been (frequently) jerking off lately, but this felt more incredible than anything he could do with his own two hands. He bucked feverishly into his partner's curled hand, wanting to intensify the sensations even as he was afraid he might come early.

Tristan licked the head of his cock, pressing his tongue hard against it. Pleasure shot through Seto like a bullet, and he began to squirm as Tristan slowly took him into his mouth. It was so hot and wet. He would go mad. He would. His erection disappeared inch by inch into his partner's orifice, and all he could do was watch and try not to slam his pelvis into the other's face.

"Tristan!" He cried desperately, snaking his fingers into his lover's hair, gripping tightly. Tristan hummed, sending vibrations through Seto cock and making him want to come right there. He gasped for air as he instinctively bucked his hips, but Tristan held him down with an arm pressed against his stomach. Seto whimpered, but it quickly escalated into a moan when Tristan started deep-throating him. He felt a tightening in his stomach, like he was going to explode; a single drop of sweat fell from his scalp and rolled down his face to settle in his hair while he arched his back almost painfully.

_Oh god. Oh god! _

"Tristan…I'm gonna…Ahhhhh!" He practically screamed as he came, so intense was the experience. His cum filled Tristan's mouth, and to his infinite arousal, the other boy swallowed effortlessly. Seto lay as if boneless, panting. That was the hardest he had ever cum, yet he still wanted more. So much more…

Tristan slowly slid his mouth off of the still-twitching appendage he'd just pleased. Seto could see that he was impossibly hard now, and his chest constricted suddenly. Tristan was grinning.

Seto felt Tristan spread his legs, exposing him completely. Before he could even catch his breath, he felt something wet at his entrance, moaning when he realized it was Tristan's tongue. Seto felt himself growing hard again at the intrusion, despite the odd feeling. It was strange; he felt pleasure at being breached, but the inside of his body responded more the the pressure of being forced open. He was suddenly very glad (albeit still embarrassed) that he practiced colonic irrigation.

Tristan pushed his tongue further inside, prodding Seto's inner walls. He cried out in pleasure, clutching the blanket beneath him to resist shuddering at the wet feeling of his partner's tongue in his entrance. He had read about this online, but experiencing it was an entirely different thing. Tristan's tongue retreated, and after a few seconds of feeling suddenly weightless and empty, he felt wet fingers replace it. Two barely-slicked digits began curving their way into his body, resulting in a sensation of near-pain as his body remained stubbornly unconvinced that it should be penetrated. Seto arched his back and panted, eyes rolling back into his head at the singular feeling of being violated in the best possible way.

Time seemed to stop for a moment when Tristan pushed his fingers against the walls of his rectum in such a way that it stimulated his prostate. Seto cried out and clutched the blanket, squeezing his eyes shut so tightly that stars danced behind his lids. Then it was struck again, and his eyes flew open; he gasped.

_What was that? _

Tristan smirked and slipped a third finger inside, hitting the spot again. Seto arched and practically screamed in pleasure.

"Tristan, please. Please!" He begged in a state of near delirium. His mind was going, he was sure of it; but for the moment, it didn't matter as long as he got what he needed.

"What do you want me to do, Neko?"

Seto was covered in sweat, and was once again hard as a rock. He knew without a doubt that Tristan was screwing with him, trying to make him cry out loud for his prick like some wanton whore. And, naturally, he was going to comply, if only because they both knew that it would be his final affirmation of consent.

"Please…please fuck me!" he cried, pushing against Tristan's fingers.

Tristan smiled, eyes dark with want and energetic from lust. He removed his fingers, causing Seto to whine at the loss, and bent over; he supported himself with one hand on either side of Seto's head. Then the executive felt something hard and thick prodding his entrance. He instictively tensed, his anal ring squeezing shut immediately to avoid being intruded.

"Relax, Seto," Tristan whispered in his ear, "Relax."

Seto felt Tristan slowly pushing into him. He gasped; Tristan was stretching him to his limits. He forced himself to relax his muscles.

"Tristan." He whimpered. It was a numb, throbbing pain, but he also felt pleasure from the pressure of the thick pole inside him being squeezed hard by his reluctant muscles, and the spreading of his sphincters. He opened his legs a little wider to give Tristan complete access.

Tristan continued to push until he was balls-deep, panting heavily and clutching the sheets hard to control himself. By this time, Seto was gripping the other boy's shoulders tightly in desperation, sweating from the heat of both embarrassment and arousal. He was afraid of what was ahead, but at the same time, he knew that if he didn't finish this, he would lose his mind. Not to mention he'd be the worst cock-tease who ever lived.

Tristan slowly pulled out, more letting Seto's body gradually release him than forcefully retreating. Seto gave a small cry of approval, sighing appreciatively at the feeling of Tristan's member leaving him. Slowly Tristan began to pick up speed, thrusting in and out of Seto's tight body; it was soon easy enough to do, as his anal muscles had all but gone limp, abandoning pain and leaving him to feel only pleasure as he was spread open. He moaned heatedly when he felt Tristan's cock hit the end of his rectum and push it back. The tunnel was only four inches long, after all, and the invading presence of his lover's appendage was at least nine.

Seto moaned at the thought; just the fact that his body was being forcibly stretched to its capacity increased his arousal. He breathlessly chanted his partner's name without knowing, drawing up his knees to better accommodate their coupling. This left his lower body completely open, and the exposure amplified the sensations he felt at being penetrated. Tristan was starting to thrust forcefully, making Seto's body ripple every time he buried himself, and his hands had taken a bruising grip on Seto's thighs. He used this grip to lift the paler boy's legs, pulling him closer and slightly changing the angle of thrust. Upon the first insertion after doing so, Seto again felt his prostate being poked—but this time, it was hard and relentless.

"Tristan!" Seto screamed, his lustful voice echoing in the greenhouse as Tristan slammed again and again into that part of him that brought him so much pleasure.

"Harder, faster!" Seto growled, unable to hold out any longer, but also unable to release without further stimulation. Tristan had no problems obeying the command. Seto was almost screaming with every thrust as Tristan continued to slam into his body.

"Tristan…I'm so close..." He muttered, feeling the tightness returning. His testicles drew tight and harder than expected, so much so that he could feel them brushing his inner thighs. Tristan reached down to grip his cock and started stroking it in time with his thrusts, every now and then reaching gently squeezing Seto's balls.

Seto cried out. He felt like he was in a drunk haze. It felt so good, like he was being drowned in the pleasure.

Suddenly, he felt himself reaching his climax. He arched his back in anticipation, gasping, curling his toes; everything seemed to be still for a split second.

"TRISTAN!" He screamed, ejaculating all over his partner's hand. He felt Tristan tense, heard him groan with his release; then there was an oddly warm, liquid feeling in him, and he realized that the other boy's cum had been copious enough to violate the balance of pressure inside him. Due to the vaccuum grip his passage had around Tristan's cock, the ejaculate was forced out of him, dripping down his body in a warm, viscous stream.

They both lay there, panting from the exertion. Tristan pulled out of Seto, causing him to groan. There had actually been so much cum that his insides were now quite slick, and though he was sure it made him some kind of nymphomaniac, he found that thought infinitely arousing.

Tristan covered them both with a second blanket, which he may as well have produced from out of nowhere, for all Seto knew. He lay on his side, his head resting on Tristan's chest and sighed as they basked in the afterglow. He felt the other boy's hand rest on his upper arm in a firm embrace, and he allowed his eyes to fall shut wearily.

"I love you," Tristan murmured into his ear almost hesitantly, as if he was afraid it was inappropriate to say.

Seto smiled, despite feeling almost too tired to do so.

"I love you too."

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><p><strong>Hope you liked it. <strong>

**I will not be updating for at least two weeks.**


	13. Chapter 12

**Sorry it took so long! Been working on the other story.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Enjoy, and please review!**

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><p>Chapter 12<p>

Seto blinked blearily, blinded by sunlight as he opened his eyes. His head was still in a strong fog from sleep, and refused to form coherent thoughts outside of its desire to return to unconsciousness. Raising his head, he glanced around. He was inside a green house, lying on top of some blankets, surrounded by flowers. The many blooms were all closed, except for some white and purple morning glories that were growing by the nearby koi pond.

_Where am I?_ He thought, trying to recall what had happened. From the state of his mind currently, he'd guess that he'd ingested some kind of alcohol or illegal drug…what happened last night? He was unused to his brain failing him so utterly. He grew increasingly aware of the fact that someone was breathing beside him, and in a mild panic he turned to see who it was. Tristan lay beside him, still sleeping heavily and naked as the day he was born.

Slowly, some very steamy, x-rated images entered his mind as the previous night's events came back to him. He remembered touching, rubbing, and moaning; matching tattoos illuminated by the full moon…

Smiling, Seto released a satisfied sigh before turning his attention to the person lying beside to him.

Tristan had a gentle smile on his face; even in sleep he looked calm. Seto traced the tattoo that decorated his upper arm. Smirking, he made a mental note to thank Nina for that little surprise. Seto rested his head back on his lover's chest and closed his eyes again, hoping for a little more sleep. He had no obligations to meet, after all, and right now he was uncharacteristically tired.

"Glad to see you're awake, Neko."

Who needed sleep? Forget sleep, there were more important things.

"No I'm not." The brunet muttered, hiding his face against Tristan's chest. Two arms surrounded him and pulled him until he was resting over his lover's body. He opened his eyes and found that he was now looking directly into Tristan's deep brown orbs. They were filled with mirth, a smile playing on the lips of the other teen.

"'Morning Seto." Tristan greeted, punctuating it with a quick kiss.

Seto couldn't help but smile back.

"'Morning Tristan," he mumbled, immitating his boyfriend's less sophisticated accent.

Tristan shifted, sitting up so he could pull Seto onto his lap.

"Sleep well?" he asked, running his hand playfully up Seto's spine while the other hand held the leaner boy at the abdomen.

"Yes," Seto sighed blissfully. Gods, the things Tristan could do with his hands…last night was a certain confirmation that his partner had an impressive level of skill.

With these thoughts, he became painfully aware that both of them were still naked. He tried to shift off of Tristan's lap.

"Maybe we should we get dressed," He muttered, a blush rising to his face.

Tristan chuckled.

"You're embarrassed now? Oh, come on. We all ready saw everything of each other last night—I don't think the morning sun will make any difference."

At the stubborn expression the executive threw him in response, Tristan conceded.

"If it makes you feel more comfortable, we'll get some clothes on."

Seto nodded and sat himself beside the other, allowing Tristan to stand up. He couldn't help but watch as Tristan got dressed. Looking away would have been like averting one's gaze after glimpsing a tiger in the wilderness or a dragon on the wing. The sight of the muscles in Tristan's arms and legs sent shivers down Seto's spine, heat rising in his body as he remembered being held in a firm grip.

Seto tore his eyes away and pulled his own clothes on. His body felt stiff and sore from sleeping outdoors on a stone floor, especially after such rigorous activity—but, in his opinion, it was a worthwhile venture. When he was fully dressed, he turned to face Tristan.

"Come on, the others should be up by now," Tristan chuckled, likely having noticed the light flush on the slender boy's cheeks.

Seto nodded and followed him out of the greenhouse, choosing for the moment to ignore his feelings of embarrassment and odd desire to hump madly until he passed out. Was it normal for someone to desire sex constantly after their first time? He wanted to ask, but he was a little concerned that Tristan might think he was a freak. He resolved to ask Google later.

The pair entered the main building to find that it was slightly cleaner than it had been the night before.

"Hey guys! Morning—or, should I say…noon. It's past 11 O'clock," Nina greeted, approaching them with long, bouncing steps. She seemed to have recovered from whatever had ailed her during the previous evening.

"We're gonna to spend the rest of the day at the beach! Wanna join?" She asked, practically glowing with excitement.

Tristan glanced at Seto. Seto blinked, wondering why the decision was being left to him, then shrugged noncommittally. Tristan was the one who had experience with social situations, not him! He honestly had no idea what he should say. But, so long as the decision was his to make, he supposed it wouldn't hurt to go along. He didn't have any work today, so why not? And it had been years since he'd last been to the beach—something he regretted immensely, but had been powerless to prevent.

"Sure, that sounds fun. I think Ash has some swim trunks we can borrow. I'll be back in a sec," Tristan smiled before walking down the hall.

Nina watched him go, waiting until he disappeared from view before she whirled on Seto. She grabbed his shoulders and scanned his face, brow creasing in concentration. So intense was her gaze that Seto began to suspect she was putting some kind of curse on him.

"You and Tris did it last night!" She concluded loudly, causing the executive to jerk in surprise.

"Huh?" Seto blushed. How could she tell? Had he been looking strange? Had she _seen _them? Oh dear god. If she'd _seen…_

"I-I don't know w-what you're talking about." He stammered.

"Don't try that with _me_. I can tell. You look different—more relaxed. Warmer. You've lost that small-minded look." Nina smiled, seemingly oblivious to Seto's deep red shade. And what did she mean by that? Warmer? Was she saying he'd been cold before? Nina seemed to be an expert at backhanded compliments.

"I was wondering how long it would take you two to pull it off."

Seto felt his face turn the darkest shade of red that was possible as he gaped in surprise.

Just then Tristan returned, carrying two sets of swim trunks.

"Well, come on! Let's go to the beach," he smiled before noticing Seto's obvious embarrassment and making a confused face as Nina bounced away.

*****************8

"Whaoooooooo!" Nina shouted at the open blue sky, charging into the waves in her small black bikini. She was followed close behind by Astrid, who was laughing joyfully and wearing a green one piece.

Seto couldn't help but laugh at the pair. They were complete opposites, yet so close in spirit. He made to sit down under the umbrella they'd opened on the shore, but Tristan caught his hand and pulled him toward the water. He gave the other teen a quizzical look.

"You can sit later. Right now, you're going swimming," Tristan teased.

Seto felt too good to argue. It was strange for him. He wasn't used to feeling this much happiness, or this much of any emotions he may have had. His emotions had always been _subtle, _even as a child, but now they were hidden—locked away for good (or so he'd thought). He hadn't felt this care free in years. Gods, it was like Tristan had wiped away all troubles last night.

The water felt cold, but Seto quickly adjusted. It was quite a warm day, and the sun was beating down hard through the humid air; despite sending goosebumps up his arms, the cool water was refreshing. That said, the water wasn't _very _cold—the waters of Japan were tepid to cool at the coldest during this time of year. Certainly, it wasn't freezing.

Tristan playfully splashed him. He couldn't resist the urge to take revenge by returning the favor, which proved to be a mistake as it started a water war. Soon enough, everyone was splashing as high a quantity of water as they could _at _anyone they could, and eventually this proved to be dissatisfactory; they resorted to dunking each other.

Seto got dunked by Tristan and Jason several times—sometimes by both at once, when one of them found the job more difficult than expected. And he himself managed to succesfully tackle and submerge Nina, who had proven herself the hardest to concur. Astrid and Ash were so intensely locked in their own battle that they spent the entire duration of the fight practically grappling with one another in an attempt to gain the upper hand. At least until the others intervened with a surprise tiebreaker. It was a surprise for Seto as well, seeing as he was the one they used as a projectile to launch at the competing teens.

"Now that everyone's completely wet," Nina began, shaking water from her braids as Seto, Astrid, and Ash recovered from colliding with one another, "Let's go swim out to the reefs. They're _beautiful_ this time of year! And there shouldn't be any sharks prowling either—just nurse sharks, and they're harmless."

Before anyone could answer, Nina dived beneath the waves, swimming away with shocking speed. Astrid followed, like always. Ash and Jason glanced at each other briefly before beginning a fevered race to the finish. Tristan looked at Seto.

"Wanna go?"

"I'm not sure. It's quite a distance," Seto hesitated. He was still getting used to swimming for long periods of time.

"It'll be fine," Tristan assured him, "It's not that far out. We'll be able to make it."

Seto bit his lip, staring in the direction the others had gone, his brow creasing in thought. He still wasn't sure he could make the swim, but he supposed he could depend on at least one of his companions to rescue him if he drowned, so…

"Okay. Let's follow."

They dived below the waves, swimming just under the surface so they could see through the clear, sunlit waters to the bottom of the shallows. Seto was concentrating on swimming more than observing the marine life, occasionally resurfacing for air, and shooing away schools of brightly-colored fish that occasionally proved they couldn't be arsed to swim around him. Finally, Tristan tapped his shoulders and pointed down. Seto looked, and his eyes widened. The multi colored reef ahead of them almost seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.

Seto took a breath of air and dived down, swimming toward the coral. It was beautiful. Memories of his past flashed by his mind's eye, but he shoved them aside—not a difficult task once he was exposed to the sight of Nina swimming in the middle of a school of bright orange. The fact that they didn't scatter was impressive, but then again it was Nina. She was clutching what looked like an underwater camera, snapping pictures here and there; the sound of the camera clicking made the fish twitch a bit, but not once did they zip away in panic.

Ash and Jason, who clearly could hold their breath for a while, were playing hide and seek among the brightly colored coral. Seto could see Astrid on the surface, floating above them on her back; the shadow of her form drifted across the reef as the current carried her slowly about. Seto swam up for breath, deciding to speak with her. He listened for a moment as he realized she was chanting under her breath.

"_Bide within the law you must,_

_In perfect love and perfect trust;_

_Live you must, and let to live._

_Fairly take, and fairly give…"_

She continued, but her voice became so quiet as to be little more than breathing, and Seto couldn't hear any more of what she was saying.

"Incredible isn't it?" she asked suddenly, eyes closed as she remained in her dreamy state.

"What is?" Seto asked.

"The reef. It's been around for so long—seen so many people; and it will continue to live long after we are gone. Even when humanity's time is over, it will forever remain an earth-made beauty that nothing can rival," She smiled.

Seto blinked, still unaccustomed (and mildly uncomfortable) with Astrid's often-sudden heaartfelt outbursts.

_Interesting way to see it,_ He thought, wondering if the things she saw and felt were different from the rest of them—hightened, perhaps. Maybe her world was filled more with feeling than physical sense.

Seto's attempts to decode Astrid were interrupted when two strong arms snaked around his waist. He turned to see Tristan had snuck up behind him.

"Enjoying yourself?"

"Yes." Seto answered truthfully. He found it a bit hard to admit, somehow. Had he developed an aversion to enjoying himself? Was his world that twisted?

"I'm glad," his boyfriend nuzzled his neck briefly, "If you think you've got the respiratory endurance, then maybe we should go give Ash and Jason a little surprise."

Seto smirked a little at the idea, looking forward to spreading a little light-hearted chaos.

***************8

"Lemonade?"

Seto looked up from where he lay beneath the large umbrella to see Astrid holding out a glass to him.

"Sure, thanks," He said, accepting the drink. He sighed, leaning back on the towel, enjoying the shade of the umbrella and resting quietly.

Nina was sitting next to him painting her toenails neon pink, which disturbed him partly due to the color and partly due to the sharp chemical smell of nail polish. A radio sat between them, set to a local pop station. The music was a bit cheesy, but somehow it fit.

Seto smirked, watching Tristan, Jason, and Ash playing in the waves, silhouetted by the setting sun. Well, the more appropriate term for what they were doing was _surfing_, but it seemed that only Tristan could actually succeed in doing so. Jason and Ash only managed to stay on their boards for a full second at the maximum, spending more time righting themselves and climbing back onto their surfboards than they did actually riding the waves.

"They just love to try to show off for our sake," Nina muttered as Jason wiped out for the umpteenth time. Seto scoffed, mildly amused at the other boys' attempts to impress the opposite sex.

"You surf, Seto?" Astrid asked, sitting behind him with a notably large book in her lap. He was observant enough to have seen the cover earlier—Solitary Witch by Silver Ravenwolf.

"Never tried it," Seto muttered, taking a sip of his lemonade to disguise his sudden and irrational feelings of inadequecy.

He caught Tristan's eye briefly as he gazed back toward the water. His lover winked at him, making him smile and blush. His boyfriend pointed to himself, making it clear that Seto should keep watching him. Within a few seconds, he caught a large wave that had rolled up impressively, and rode right at the edge of the tube before rising up and off the water, catching a little air; he dived into the receding wave.

Seto laughed, pleased at the display and more than a little impressed. Tristan had been making him laugh all day. The entire event had proven itself more of a wonderful experience than an unpleasant ordeal. A day to just lie back and have no worries…

The other boys left the water and approached them.

"Done making fools of yourselves?" Nina teased, a playful smile crossing her face.

"Har de har har. I'd like to see you try surfing." Jason challenged.

"Well I would, but my toenails are drying. Maybe next time." Nina sneered, pushing her friend off of her towel.

"All right you two, calm down," Ash sighed, though whether it was due to Nina's apathy toward their attempt to impress or he was just trying to avoid a fight was unclear.

"So, you guys wanna make a bonfire?"

"YES!" Nina shrieked in joy, making everyone jump as she leapt from where she sat, drying nails forgotten, "I'll get the wood."

She rushed away at almost inhuman speed, making Seto wonder just what the hell she was and why she hadn't joined junior olympics. Sand and small shells were flying up behind her.

"Don't get a telephone pole this time! I don't want to have to explain to your parents why their phones don't work again. And I certainly don't want to have another interesting conversation with the police," Tristan called after her.

"Spoil sport!" Nina shrieked, stopping in her tracks as if her only plan had been to hijack a telephone pole for the fire.

Seto stared at Tristan, who was laughing at his friend's expense.

"Telephone pole?"

"Yeah, it's what we used last year. Nina just showed up with one." Tristan grinned. Seto stared, attempting to discern whether or not he was missing some kind of inside joke.

"But where did she get one?"

"We never asked. Figured plausible deniability was the safest thing for all involved."

Seto slowly turned to stare wide-eyed after Nina, not sure what he should think at this point.

Soon enough, Nina returned with wood and hot dogs and marshmallows. Ash and Jason had gathered some kindling to get the fire started properly.

"I've got everything we need. And don't worry—this time we won't have that officer ruining everything!" Nina chirped joyfully, as if the only thing that had gone awry the last time had been the appearance of the local sherrif. Seto might have considered his new group of friends a bit delinquent, but he remembered quite well that he had once held a man hostage by placing his head in a briefcase and threatening to snap his neck…not to say he didn't deserve it a little. But by comparison, Tristan's friends were upstanding Japanese citizens.

It only took a few minutes to get a good fire burning, and the group gathered around the fire pit; there was little to be seen outside the circle of ambient orange-yellow light, as the beach was completely dark. Nary a street lamp was nearby to impede the clarity of the stars and moon above or the density of the night that fell around them.

Tristan handed Seto a stick with a hotdog on the end, which he accepted, dispite having a lack of enthusiasm for such foods.

"I know it's not five star…" his boyfriend whispered in his ear, a slightly nervous smile playing on his lips.

"When did I ask for five star? I can have that any day," Seto whispered back, pausing a bit suddenly to bite his tongue—he was deciding whether or not he wished to continue the outburst that was welling up inside him. Tristan gave him a small kiss on the cheek, a sweet and appreciative gesture; the other four teens cheerily roasted their hotdogs, talking and teasing each other as only longtime friends could.

"Resorts and high-end hotels…all that is just contrived," the executive spoke again at last, feeling as if he was exhaling more than air—as if he was relieving himself of a burdening lie, "So there's every amenity you can ask for. So what? It's given only to those who can afford it. This—"

He glanced around the fire at those gathered again, trying to find the words he needed.

"This is something sincere," he murmured, "Just people—genuinely nice people who care about each other, having a nice day. Maybe I'm out of touch, but I still know the difference between a business arrangement and real, human love and kindness."

Seto fell silent, finding he was a bit out of breath after voicing his true thoughts for the first time in years. Tristan was watching him in mild surprise, and he suddenly felt a bit self-conscious.

"This really does mean a lot to you, doesn't it?" His boyfriend asked, and Seto found that all he could do was nod. Gozaburo had spent years trying to force all the fire out of him, to much avail; but it seemed that in the end, he was still the person he'd been when he was born.

"Don't be embarrassed," Tristan smiled, his eyes warm, "It just means you care, and I'm perfectly fine with that. I think this is the first time I've seen you so worked up."

Seto removed his meat from the fire and stared at it.

"I don't do things halfway," he stated carefully, "When I give myself to a project, or a cause, or—or a person, then I do it completely."

"I admire that about you. It's part of what makes you who you are."

He blushed slightly at the compliment, averting his gaze from the boy beside him. Tristan scooted closer so their legs were touching, resting one hand on his hip.

"What else do you care deeply about? I'm interested."

Seto watched embers fly from the fire pit for a few moments as he thought about what he was going to say; he saw that Nina and Astrid were enjoying some marshmallows on the other end of the fire pit, and in the distance he saw faint silhouettes of Ash and Jason roughousing on the beach.

"Flying," the blue-eyed teen admitted at last, "I can't really explain how much I love being in the sky. When I'm at such an altitude, with the cloud cover beneath me, just soaring where nothing else can reach me…it's amazing."

Tristan watched him quietly for a moment, looking thoughtful, before replying.

"I'd like to fly with you sometime," he stated at last, and Seto met his deep brown eyes.

"I think…I'd like that too."

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><p><strong>I promise to update faster.<strong>


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